Close Encounter (4 page)

“When the UN Security Council announced the cease fire…” Sean shrugged. “Lots of things changed at that point. They admitted how bad off the populations were all over the world and how close we were to causing the extinction of our species. Less than a third of the population was capable of reproduction at that time. Some were helped with technology, but not all. The infant mortality rate was obscene due to environmental factors. Later reports would emerge that would illuminate the eventual fate of our species if we didn’t focus on medical and science developments.”

“Like what?”

“Three-hundred twenty-two children were born in the last year of the war; only eighty-five of them survived to their first birthday.”

“In the NAU?”

“No, sweetheart, on the
planet
.”

“That’s…horrific.”

“Three hundred people starved to death on Moonbase due to the war, lack of supplies, and abandonment by both the European Union and the North American Union. Not intentional abandonment, mind you, but it became extremely difficult during the height of the war to get any sort of craft off the surface of Earth. Some countries were extremely opposed to any resources leaving the planet—even for the colonies we’d already established. Twenty-two ships were destroyed trying to resupply the two colonies before both the NAU and the EU gave up and concentrated on protecting their own borders. Mars was smaller, all military, and they had rationing protocols in place. They also had access to cryo-sleep technology. Ninety-five percent of the colony was asleep at any given moment. They managed to survive for three years alternating out of cryo-sleep. The people on Moonbase weren’t so lucky.”

Her hands were steady as she carefully put the gel into place. It adhered to the circuit board in the hard drive. “When I took the Kepler mission—it was because I wanted a better fate for our people. I didn’t do it for the NAU but for Earth, for mankind. The war was small, and most believed it would end soon. To find out that it continued for so long after we left and that it only ended after biological and nuclear weapons were launched is such a betrayal. I gave up the chance to have a family; I gave up a life on one of the colonies or even on Earth for the opportunity to expand our knowledge of the universe and maybe to find a new world. My whole crew sacrificed their lives for that ideal, and it’s obscene to realize how little it mattered.”

“I can’t disagree,” Sean said and frowned when she slipped from his lap without ever acknowledging her knowing invasion of his personal space. He said nothing else as he figured the conversation had subverted any desire she’d had to flirt with him further.

He shifted in the chair and pulled in closer to the console. Having her perched on his thigh for nearly twenty minutes had made his cock wake up and take notice.

“Sorry,” she murmured as she stared out of the large window that made up the outer wall of the station in the operations center. “Beautiful view.”

“Jupiter doesn’t have a prettier moon in my opinion,” Sean said quietly. “Perhaps you’d like to rest some more?”

She laughed, bitter and low. “I nearly slept through the extinction of our fucking species. I’ve rested enough.”

“The transponder has completed its connection with the hard drive, and the data is being accessed,” Arti interrupted. “The drive appears to have survived intact with only a few corrupted sectors. All of the data will be reviewed for threats before it is transferred to the station server.”

“Thank you, Arti,” Sean said as he closed the casing on the hard drive and put away the tools that Eliza had used. “The captain will review it and let you know what she wants packed for the data-burst to Armstrong Station.”

“I want to send it to your grandmother as well and whoever is in charge of the UN Security Council. I don’t want the NAU or Space Command covering this all up without someone being accountable.” She turned and faced him. “I assume you have a direct, encrypted connection with her?”

“When I’m within range, yes. She insists on being able to contact us whenever it is possible. I can assume she’s already waiting for the station to come into range again. I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to order Jupiter Station to
move
in order to act as a relay for her.”

“Would they move?”

“No, it’s a logistics nightmare. Ganymede is just one of twenty research posts that Jupiter Station is responsible for. There are other people, some of them alone just like I was, that depend on the schedule we’ve established.”

Eliza nodded. “Okay.” She ran her hands through her hair. “Jason McAlister was someone I could trust.”

“And?”

“The game he’s playing with this and with you especially puts my teeth on edge. I want to believe he was just trying to protect me, and this was the most expedient way.”

“But?”

“He’s always five moves ahead of the people he goes up against,” Eliza said. “He was already a rear admiral when I received the command of the Kepler mission, and he’s only two years older than me. I actually received my promotion to captain in the same week I was given the command of the
Columbus
.”

“The two members of your crew that abandoned ship,” Sean began. “Where did they come from?” He held up a hand when she frowned at him. “Arti, relay the information that is public knowledge about the Kepler Exploration Initiative.”

“The
NAU-SC Columbus
left Mars Colony with a crew of twenty on January 9, 2145. Led by Captain Elizabeth Hawthorne of Union Space Command, their mission was to find and locate the theorized planet within the life zone of the Kepler-47 star system.”

“But there were twenty-two of us,” Eliza murmured.

“The general population of Earth didn’t find out about the civilians on board the
Columbus
until the mission was declassified forty years ago, Eliza,” Sean explained patiently. “The press tours and information given to the public before then only listed the military personnel.”

“I knew that,” Eliza murmured. “But they said that the mission and the identities of the civilian crew would be revealed after we left Mars. I mean, we were all chosen because we had no family ties on Earth or in the colonies, but Space Command promised that
all
of our names would be acknowledged.” She shook her head. “Why was the mission declassified finally?”

“Because a member of your crew lied,” Sean said dryly. “Well, maybe he didn’t know, but Dr. Charles Elba left behind an infant son whom would eventually learn that his father disappeared after being recruited by the NAU and taken to Mars Colony. He sued the government for information concerning his father’s disappearance, and due to kinship laws, they had no choice but to reveal his placement on the Kepler mission. It snowballed after that.”

“Kinship laws?” Eliza asked.

“During the war years, people disappeared a lot due to government interference or even unofficially sanctioned kidnappings. People were forced into service, experimented on medically. You name it—it probably happened. Though it didn’t happen in the NAU or EU, some countries resorted to murdering large sections of their populace in order to save resources.

“After the war, the UN Security Council forced every participating member of the United Nations to pass kinship laws. Parental and social responsibility, reproduction rights, and the sanctity of family. It’s why Admiral McAlister encouraged us to marry. I’m your family—legally and socially as long as we’re married. We are responsible to and for each other. The NAU nor Space Command can deny me access to you if you’re held in government custody. You can’t disappear.”

“And if they just kill you?” Eliza asked softly.

“They have to deal with my parents, siblings, and grandmother, which is the point of it all really. My grandmother is a world leader and sits on the UN Security Council. Getting rid of her grandson would be social and political suicide.”

“If they get caught,” Eliza murmured.

He stood and walked to stand next to her. “I have an excellent sense of self-preservation.”

“Beyond your foolish heroics and patriotism,” Eliza said with a little sad laugh. She turned fully to look at him and huffed. “I think you could be crazy.”

He started to protest, but she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and jerked him forward. His words were lost against her full mouth, and Sean exhaled shakily even as he wrapped his arms around her. Eliza shuddered in his arms and buried her fingers in his hair as he deepened the kiss.

He licked into her mouth as he pushed her up against the window. A soft, sweet moan slipped out of her as he cupped her ass and lifted her easily off the floor. Eliza wrapped her legs around his waist and shuddered as he settled between her thighs. His cock was hard and thick against her.

Sean’s mouth left hers, and he trailed soft, sweet kisses along her jaw before scraping his teeth against the side of her neck. She surged against him, her legs tightening around his waist.

“Fuck,” she whispered fiercely.

The tinkle of bells made him lift his head, and he sighed. “Damn it, Arti.”

“My apologies, sir, but there is an incoming transmission from Callisto Station. Since the window for direct communication is only six minutes at this time, I had no choice but to interrupt you.”

Sean frowned but nodded. He pressed a firm kiss against her mouth and let her legs slide down his body. “Sorry.”

“No problem,” Eliza murmured. She leaned against the window as he walked back to the main console in the operations center.

“Open communications,” Sean ordered as he sat down. The screen in front of him activated, and he offered his ex-girlfriend a raised eyebrow. He hadn’t spoken directly to Dr. Jessica Danvers in nearly four years. He glanced at Eliza and wondered if Arti had commented on that particular relationship. It hadn’t ended well. “Dr. Danvers, how can I help you?”

Jessica leaned back in her own chair and threw her feet up on the edge of the console in front of her. “Got a data-packet for you from Jupiter Station. Priority One and encrypted. Arti should be receiving it any second now.”

Sean checked the incoming transmission on a small screen just left of the main viewing screen and nodded. “Thank you.”

“Heard a rumor that you conquered your marriage phobia,” she offered with a practiced smirk. “Picked up some chatter from a cargo ship about an hour ago.”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” Sean answered dryly and tried not to smile as her smirk fell away only to be replaced by thinly disguised fury.

“It’s true then? You retrieved the evacuation pod of some high-ranking USC officer and married her?” She huffed. “That’s insane!”

“It seemed like the thing to do at the time,” Sean said and shrugged. “But it’s really none of your business.”

“We were together for five years,” Jessica protested. “We broke up because you didn’t want to get married!”

Eliza appeared at his side then, leaned against his chair, and dropped her hand on his shoulder.

“Dr. Jessica Danvers, meet Captain Eliza Hawthorne, Union Space Command.”

Jessica’s eyes widened in what Sean figured was horror, but it was very brief. She gifted them with a brazen, insincere smile and shook her head. “Well, congratulations, Captain Hawthorne. He’s not a complete bastard.”

Eliza shrugged. “Fortunately, Dr. Danvers, his attractions more than make up for his flaws.”

Jessica’s gaze narrowed, and she frowned at them both before abruptly cutting the transmission.

“That’s a cat fight waiting to happen,” Eliza said dryly. “Does she have any combat training?”

“No, you can totally take her,” Sean promised with a little laugh. “Sorry about that—we rarely receive transmissions from Callisto Station no matter who is running it. Teko Solutions has eight research stations in the Jupiter system, but we’re so spread out that we rarely interact with one another. Our communication relays aren’t powerful enough on their own for anything more than direct line of sight communication.”

“I’m honestly surprised that communications have advanced as far as they have,” Eliza admitted. “Real-time communication with Earth was impossible from Mars before I left.”

“There are communication relays spread throughout the solar system, but they depend on both military and civilian installations to amplify and broadcast the channels. People complain a lot about the lag and blackouts, but scientists around the world have been focused intently on keeping our species alive. It’s only been in the last fifteen or so years that we’ve really had the time or the inclination to invest in luxury technologies. The communication systems we had worked, and it was left at that for decades.”

“So, no food replicators and no transporters.” Eliza shook her head. “I’m severely disappointed.”

“Both are in the works,” Sean admitted. “Teko Solutions has a huge team dedicated to protein replication. That kind of technology is and would continue to be a life saver. They’ve already had some limited success, but it’s not economically feasible for any sort of real use. I have every faith we’ll get there in my lifetime though.”

“You just want to ban rations,” Eliza said as she slid between him and the console. She leaned there for a few seconds, staring at his face. “You two broke up because you didn’t want to get married?”

“Well, there was my solemn vow to consider,” Sean started and grinned when she frowned at him. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “I come from a big family, as you know. I already have ten nieces and nephews from various siblings. I’m really looking forward to being a father myself, and Jessica is morally and politically opposed to having more than one child. I always figured I’d have several.”

“Arti said that women were encouraged to have multiple children.”

“There are those that believe that if our species were to die out that it is the natural order of things. Jessica’s own parents had to be threatened with a jail term before they would accept bio-modifications for their children. They refused them and both died of cancer twenty years ago. Jessica hasn’t let anyone upgrade her nano-tech or bio-mods since she was in her twenties. She turned sixty-one last year.”