HeartStorm

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Assignment

StarLight watched as Guardian

Transport Two was delivered five weeks later. Standing at a safe distance

inside the bay, she noted the difficulty the crew was having as the massive

repair ship from Abernath attempted to slowly lower the ship into its cradle.

The storm outside was creating a problem with the tractor beams, making the

ship swing dangerously, until Blender created a counter wind to help buffer the

descent.

She was aware of someone coming up

behind her. A pair of arms possessively encircled her, and a hand caressed her

extended belly. Hunter lowered his chin onto her shoulder.

"Good morning, my love. How are

you feeling?"

She smiled. The warmth of his body

pressing against her back and buttocks was comforting. "How was roll call?

Anything of importance?"

He lightly kissed her cheek.

"So far, it looks like a slow day, which is good. We need to work on

getting Two back into service."

She glanced at him. "I thought

all its repairs were supposed to have been done at the base on Abernath."

"They concentrated on getting

the engines back online. Deceiver thought it would be better if we finished the

repairs here at Command." He kissed her cheek again, following it with a

nuzzle. "I miss having you at roll call."

Star patted his hand where it

continued to stroke her swollen abdomen. "I do, too, but Doctor Perlakian

says I need to get as much rest as possible." Chuckling, she added,

"Dev still hasn't forgiven me for taking off to the black hole." She

wriggled slightly, seeking more of his hard warmth along her lower back. Hunter

growled at her.

"Careful. It's been a while

since we've had any of that kind of intimacy, and when you do that, you're not

helping matters."

"You know I can help you with

that." She smiled seductively. Even though she felt like a bloated garf

whale, her husband always managed to keep her feeling sexy.

"Nope." He gave her cheek another

peck before repositioning his arms around her. "It's either a two-way

street, or nothing. And you haven't answered my question. How are you feeling,

other than your back aches?"

"Want me to make a list?"

At that moment, the babe kicked

outward, enough to show the outline of its tiny foot. Both StarLight and Hunter

laughed.

"She's precocious," Star

accused lovingly.

"She's like her mother,"

he responded, earning a playful retaliatory slap on the arm.

"So how long do you think it'll

take us to get Two back up to speed?" Deceiver inquired, walking up

to join them.

"Hopefully, not long,"

Hunter responded, eyeing the outer hull. "Let's hope most of what we're

looking at is cosmetic damage."

"Cosmetic, hell,"

Commander said, taking a stance next to the Guardian leader. "That ship's

been through a s**t storm, and then some. It's a good sign those guys managed

to get the engines back online. But has anyone checked to see if the internal

workings have been fried? I wouldn't be surprised to find every power cell

totally drained."

"Guess we'll find out when we

get inside her," Deceiver commented. "Let's go grab a hand comp and

see how depressing things look."

Hunter gave his wife another kiss,

this time on the lips. "Go sit down. Get off your feet. Why don't I bring

you a comp, and you can help me with recalibra—"

The claxon went off, signaling an

emergency call. Everyone froze as Deceiver ran to the communications board. All

ears strained to listen.

"Guardian Command! Can you read

us? Please respond! This is Fio Toreedus on Sigma Vialla's third moon! Guardian

Command!"

"This is Guardian

Command," Deceiver answered. "We read you. What is your

emergency?" He tried to adjust the vid screen, but received only static.

"Thank the heavens! This is Fio

Toreedus. I'm with five other men on the third moon of Sigma Vialla. It's in

the Mandrus Vialla system."

"We know the location. What is

your emergency?"

"We've crashed in the middle of

a major blow storm, and we need to be rescued before this gets stronger. Our

systems are failing. We have less than forty percent oxygen, and we've lost all

heat."

"Surface temps in a blow storm

can reach negative three hundred degrees," Provoker commented from across

the bay.

Deceiver nodded. "What's your

current temperature, Toreedus?"

"Negative sixty-nine degrees,

and dropping more than ten degrees every minute."

"We hear you. We're sending two

men to your location immediately. When we get within locator distance, we'll

contact you and order you to turn on your locator. Otherwise, shut down all

non-essential systems to conserve your energy. We expect to reach you in

approximately..." He paused and looked to Time Merchant, who was already

using a data board to run some calculations.

"One hundred eighty-seven

minutes," the man gave him.

"One hundred ninety

minutes," Deceiver replied.

"Thanks, Guardian Command.

We'll be waiting for you."

The line went dead, and Deceiver

turned to face the others. His eyes automatically locked onto Master Hunter.

"I hate to do this, but I have no other choice. Hunter, Challenger, I'm

sending you two to Sigma Vialla."

"Deceiver, Star's due to give

birth in a couple of weeks." Sender stepped up to state the obvious.

"Why not let me go in his place? I can transport those people up to Three."

The Guardian grimly nodded, but

addressed Hunter. "I know, but they shouldn't be gone more than a few

days."

"Why just them two?"

Provoker questioned. "Three can hold several more of us, including

the six survivors. Why not send Sender? The two of them working together can

get the job done in half the time."

Deceiver thought about it, then

nodded. "All right. Sender, you go with them. But remember, this is a

rescue mission only. Go, pick up, and bring back, unless their home planet is

somewhere between there and here. Then you can drop them off along the way. Any

more questions?"

Sender hurried to catch up with

Challenger, who was already halfway across the bay, heading toward Transport

Three, which sat in its docking cradle several meters away. Glancing over

his shoulder, he called out, "No more time for questions. We have to get

to Sigma Vialla before six men freeze to death. Hey, Hunter! I'm driving!"

StarLight turned and faced her

husband. She didn't try to mask the anxiety on her face. "Udo?"

He quickly kissed her. "I'll be

back. Don't worry. Remember? Destiny promised we're going to have a son

sometime in the future," Hunter teased, and gave her a wink.

She looked behind him to where the

slender woman stood almost in the rear shadows of the bay. Although the psychic

was uncannily accurate with all her predictions, Star continued to have doubts

about Destiny's track record. Nothing was ever guaranteed to work one hundred

percent of the time. Sooner or later, the woman had to make a mistake. Star

hoped the promise of her and Hunter having a son together would eventually come

about. Even with her trepidations, that singular promise was enough to give her

some consolation.

Star tried to hug him as best as her

big tummy allowed. "Yes, I know you'll return, but there's always the

chance you could be seriously injured. Or there could another incident, and you

be gone again for weeks or months."

"But I'll be back," he

whispered. "I'll be back, and we'll love again. In the meantime, Emma,

please watch over your mother and little sister until I return."

At their throats, the ebony

HeartCrystal trilled in reply. The almost sentient temporal stone connected

them in ways that continued to surprise them.

A final kiss, and Hunter trotted

toward the transport as the big ship's engines fired up.

Star remained in the bay while the

others filed into the main building. She watched the Guardian fleet's biggest

ship gradually lift itself off its cradle, rising slowly upward until it

cleared the open bay doors. As the transport's engines roared to life, sending

the vessel into space, she blew a kiss in its direction.

"He's right, you know," a

familiar and loved figure whispered beside her. A petite hand threaded fingers

through hers.

Star

gave the hand a squeeze. "I hope so, Fire. I hope you're both right."

Her friend gave her arm a little

jerk. "Hey, I'm hungry. Want to share a slice of direlli pie with me? My

treat."

Star chuckled. "When aren't you

hungry? But come to think of it, I'm feeling a bit hungry, too. We may need to

order up two whole slices, instead of sharing one."

Morning Fire grinned. "Sounds

good to me."

Star allowed the woman to lead her

out of the bay, but not before she took one last look at the empty cradle where

Three had docked. As the door closed behind her, she pasted a smile on

her face and placed the tips of her fingers on the stone embedded in the hollow

of her throat.

You'll let me know if something

happens to him, won't you, Emma?

The gem chirped an affirmative. And, oddly enough, it gave her

comfort.