Chapter 18 : Between Systems

Theodora's POV Aeolus was a few days away. Until then, I was going to spend my free time on the bridge or drinking with my brother. Anything to keep me away from the two men I kissed the other day. My fingers stroked the side of my neck where Javier bit me. I could still feel it even though the marks were gone. My body twisted up at the memory. Damn it. I can't believe he bit me. More unbelievable to me was that he gave me the supernova of orgasms when he fed off me. I never thought I'd be the type of person to enjoy that sort of thing, but there I was, moaning like I was being paid for it, as he drank from me. Fucking ridiculous. Every time I tell myself not to fuck Javier, I end up doing everything but fuck him. Who could blame me? Mads wasn't the jealous type, but apparently, Javier was. And I shamefully liked watching Javier get all wound up about me and Mads. Dangerous. That was a dangerous dynamic to like. I didn't want to think about it. Eventually, if I kept this up, I'd have to choose between them. But how could I when they satisfied two different parts of me? Ugh. Fuck me. "Something on your mind, Cap?" Benji asked as he piloted us between two solar systems. The most vulnerable place for us to be. Radars didn't work between systems. "Nothing important," I replied. That was a lie, but the mission was more important than sandwiching myself between two very different men. Oh, what a visual. Mads behind me with Javier on his knees in front of me. Lust rocketed through my spine, flooding and settling in my lower belly. Fuck, something about a man on his knees. Especially a pleaser like Javi. Javi…ha…like we're friends. We weren't friends. I was just a contractor that couldn't keep her paws off her boss. "You're just oddly quiet," Benji noticed. I shrugged it off. I was quieter than usual. We'd usually be shooting the shit, having a grand ol' time on the bridge. "I don't like being between systems. How far is the next friendly system?" Benji hummed, glancing at his kiosk. "Friendly? Hmm. The closest friendly planet is Gaea." "Ha. That's funny," I snorted. Like I'd go back home to Gaea. Not after my dad said he never wanted to see me again. Kicked me out on my ass. Daxton would have better luck going home. He didn't burn bridges with Dad. He only joined me because he promised our mom he'd look out for me. Mom always knew I'd protect my little brother, so it was probably for the best she wanted us to take care of each other. Fuck, I missed my mom. Her wide smile and the homecooked dinners. She liked to pinch my cheek and tell me that I only had one dimple because the angels thought I was so cute they'd do it too. My mom is the only reason I know how to cook. It was our bonding time while I grew up. Between cooking with mom and tending to the crops with dad. To think I used to be so close to my dad and he threw me out without a second thought. Without a second opinion. My mother would have never let him if she was in the house when it happened. Fucking asshole. "Hey, you asked," Benji replied. "The next one is much farther. About a halfway point between Gaea and Aeolus." As much as I didn't like floating between solar systems, around hostile planets, I'd take it over seeing my dad. "Do you miss your family, Benji?" I asked. "You're my family, Theo," Benji stated. "You and Daxton are the siblings I never had and I don't need anything else." Benji came from a big family. Like parents, grandparents, and ten plus kids, including Benji. His parents got sick before he joined the service and met me. From what he told me, his older siblings cut and left him to take care of their parents until they passed. He was only sixteen at the time, but his siblings treated their parents like a burden. Ganged up on Benji and dropped all responsibility on him. Because he was the youngest so it was all on him. Especially since there was no fortune or inheritance to be passed down once they died. Selfish brats if you asked me. As bad as the relationship was with me and my dad, if my mom called me and told me he was sick, I'd put everything behind me to help. But since my dad is in perfect health, I had time to stay angry with him for a while. But maybe I was just waiting for the call when he apologized to me. "We love you, Benji," I said, striding back to sit in the co-pilot seat next to him. I rarely had to co-pilot, but whenever the autopilot was acting funky and Benji was exhausted, I'd take over for a while. As long as he needed me to. Benji flashed me a smile. "I know, Cap. And I know you got my back if I ever decided to visit my shitty siblings." I punched his shoulder. "Damn right. I'd even punch one of them if you wanted me to." "Punch all of them for me," Benji countered with a relaxed laugh. "But, really, what's bothering you? You've been acting weird ever since Ilios." Because I've been two-timing Javier and Mads. Benji glanced at me expectantly. I sighed, releasing the tension I'd been carrying on my shoulders. "Can you keep a secret?" "Of course, Theo," Benji answered genuinely as he guided us through the atmospheric field surrounding the next solar system. At least our radars will come back on. "I've been having—" my confession was cut off sharply by the shrill shriek of our proximity alarm. Benji tore his gaze from me, across to the blinking red light on our radar. "Fuck!" Suddenly, a shot was fired from an enemy vessel, ricocheting against our shield. Peacemaker shook violently, throwing Benji up against the kiosk. His face smacked against the helm, knocking him out cold. "Benji?" I asked, shaking his shoulders as the entire bridge shook again, plummeting our shields to thirty-six percent. He didn't react, a knot forming in the middle of his forehead. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I flicked on the co-pilot kiosk and took over the controls. Who the fuck was shooting at us? A secondary helm popped out of the console in front of me. Across the windows, an incoming transmission buzzed, shaking me further. "Incoming transmission from…the Pantomath." Oh, fucking hell. I ignored it, taking on evasive maneuvers. I wasn't as good of a pilot as Benji, but I could sure as shit get us out of this. With both hands on the helm, I tried to avoid the Pantomath's fire, but every time I missed sent the ship rattling hard. I clicked on the intercom. "Brace yourselves! We're under attack!" The incoming transmission came through again, and I ignored it just the same. Like I would listen to the Pantomath's terms when he's trying to shoot me out of the sky. This is why I hated being stuck between systems. I should have seen the Pantomath coming from miles away. And at times like this, I wish Peacemaker had guns. The ship shook back and forth violently, making me downright dizzy. Shields were depleting and we had to jump. "Shit. You've got to be kidding me!" I shouted as I hit the button to jump to the closest nearby planet. Gaea. As soon as I hit the button, I turned to Benji, attaching his harness. But I didn't have enough time to click mine in when the ship lurched into hyperdrive and sent me flying across the bridge until I hit the window hard, hearing nearly every bone crack as darkness swallowed my eyesight. Anguish flooded my entire being, but I wasn't awake long enough to keep feeling it. *** Mads's POV Holy fucking shit! The red lights were flashing above the engine room, signaling that we were under attack. The ship lurched, throwing me directly out of my loft and onto the metal ground. I hit the ground with a hard thump, but thankfully, it didn't hurt as bad as it would if I were human. I jumped to my feet, getting to work to keep the engine pumping so we wouldn't become a dead ship in space. Even more dangerous than crash landing. The ship threw me around, back and forth as I tried to keep the hyperdrive greased. Smoke started to come from a corner of the engine. Fuck. Our shields were compromised. I heard a yelp from the top of the stairs toward the main cabin area followed by the tumbling noise of a body falling down the stairs. Not enough time to check on them. I had to keep the engine running. A totally different part of the engine started to smoke. And there was only one of me. "Brace yourselves! We're under attack!" I heard Theo shout from the intercom. A body slammed against the ground right outside the engine room. "Are you okay?" I shouted. I knew if it were Daxton or Ellie, they probably wouldn't be okay, but I couldn't leave my post. Everyone would be in more danger if we got vaporized. "Yeah!" It was Javier's voice. Thank God it was only him. He'd survive a tumble down the stairs. I glanced across at this metal to see the daywalker stumbling through the shaking ship, trying to keep his footing. My tools slid across the engine room. "What's going on?" he shouted, panicked. He'd never been on a crashing ship before. "We're being shot at!" I replied, using the tool I had to tighten a valve. Fuck, I needed my kit. "Hey! Get me my toolkit!" I pointed toward my bench where my kit was sliding around. "I need to check on Theo!" Javier replied, turning to go back up the stairs. "That's real cute, lover boy, but I need your help!" I barked. The engine started to smoke in a totally different section. I needed to close all those valves to minimize the possibility of us blowing up. He froze, glancing over at me and back up the stairs. "She's a big girl and you'll be no help if we blow up!" I shouted, pointing aggressively toward my bag. "Fuck! Come on, man! I need your help!" Javier gave the stairs one last longing look, but he ultimately followed my gaze to my toolkit. While I found it amicable that he was so concerned about my mate, we had more important things to do. The daywalker snatched up my bag and struggled to keep his footing as he brought it to me. I grabbed it from him, dangling to the top of the massive engine, getting covered in exhaust and soot as I bore down on the valve. I thrust the bag toward Javier. "Grab a socket wrench and close the valves on that side!" I ordered. Javier pulled out the wrong wrench. "No! Javi! The socket wrench. SOCKET WRENCH!" I shouted. Fuck, we were going to explode. "This?" he called back. Again. The wrong fucking wrench. "You've got a rover right?" I asked, twisting closed another valve with an exhausted huff. "Yeah." "Looks like a ratchet! Use the ¾ attachment!" Like a fucking lightbulb went off over his head. "Got it!" Finally, we were getting somewhere. Javier jumped up on the other side of the engine and followed my instruction. We worked together and frankly, I wouldn't have been able to do it all myself. We shouted back and forth, getting it done. Even though the ship rocked us back and forth, trying to knock us off its engine like a wild animal with every hit to our shields. "Fuck yeah!" I shouted back. "You're a fucking natural!" Javier laughed, beaming back at me with pearly white teeth, soot staining his healthy orange skin with a cast of smoky black gunk. "Helps to have a good teacher!" I barked a laugh right as the hyperdrive revved. Glowing blue deep within the core of the engine. We were jumping. And we were dangling over this massive piece of metal. Fuck. "Get off the engine!" I ordered, hopping off my spot. Javier wasn't fast enough, but I sprinted across the engine room as the thick tethers holding the engine in place groaned. The ship jumped…and then we started falling. We were crash landing. I gripped Javier by the back of his shirt, ripping him off the engine and pinning him against the wall behind the stairs. The safest place we could be as the tethers for the engine snapped, the massive piece of metal scraping against the ground, crashing against the doorframe. Seconds away from crushing us under its weight. I wrapped both of my arms around Javier, completely shielding him with my body as my stomach jumped into my throat. We ducked down, using the stairs to protect us from the tools and nonsense flying all over the place. Javier tucked his face down as we rode out the crash landing. Someone must've taken over the controls as the engine gave one last push of life before slamming against the ground. Javier and I bounced into the ceiling, grunting as I pinned him under my body when we landed back on the ground. After a horrible landing, the ship glided across the ground before slowly coming to a stop. Lights were hanging from the ceiling. The engine room was a mess. "Shit," I grumbled, leaning back from Javier. The large man was underneath me, breathing heavily from the adrenaline spike. "You okay, Javi?" I asked. I stared down at him, listening to the usually slow pulse of his heart speed up slightly. His golden eyes glowed. "Yeah. You're bleeding." I reached up, touching the red glistening off my forehead. "I'll live." I got up, grabbing Javier's hand and hoisting him up to his feet. "Help me check on the rest of the crew." Javier nodded and together we stepped over all the debris and climbed the slanted, misshapen staircase.