Cassandra's Challenge Read online

Entering the ready room she finds Lucas, Quinn and the Admiral leaning over a table looking at plans. All three heads turn as she enters. Straightening William walks over to her.

  “We’re reworking some of the security procedures. We need your input.” Putting a light hand at her lower back he guides her to the table. Standing so he brushes against her, the Admiral points, explaining what’s been planned so far. Listening, Cassandra struggles to ignore him, unable to move away.

  “When it comes to Victoria, we’ll have a protection detail with her at all times. They will report directly to Marat.”

  “No. They’ll report directly to Lucas.” She sees the surprise in Lucas’ eyes. “You’ll report to me.”

  “Are you sure that’s what you want?” William’s eyes reveal nothing. “Lucas hasn’t had as much security training as Marat.”

  “Marat can be in charge of the guards but he clears everything through Lucas regarding Victoria, you have the final word.” Cassandra watches Lucas. “Do you have a problem being in charge of Victoria’s protection?”

  “No. No problem at all.” He knows the trust she'd just given him….the responsibility. Looking at his father he knows he realizes it too.

  “What else is there?”

  “That should do it for now. Quinn I’ll be on the bridge shortly.”

  “Yes Admiral.” With the meeting breaking up, Cassandra turns escaping William’s touch, only to be stopped by Lucas as she’s entering the private chambers.

  “Cassandra…thank you, Marat’s good, really good but….”

  “You need to be there. I get that Lucas, but don’t thank me.” Looking to see that William is still talking to Quinn she continues. “Because if this all goes wrong, and you know as well as I do that it could, you have only one priority.” Lucas recognizing her look, he’s seen it before, from the Admiral, only this time it’s from a Queen. An order is about to be given.

  “You get Victoria out! I don’t care how, I don’t want to know. You don’t concern yourself with anyone else, is that understood? If you can’t do that then I’ll find someone who can.”

  Lucas understands what she’s telling him, he’s not to worry about her, his father or his brother, only Tori. The thought of not helping them in unthinkable, but the thought of not protecting Victoria is worse. Sometimes you have to make hard decisions his father had taught him that.

  “I can do that, I won’t like it but I’ll do it.” Turning Lucas stops her once again.

  “He loves you Cassandra.” The eyes that meet his flash with pain before going blank. “Never doubt it.”

  “I never have Lucas, which only makes it worse.”

  Finally escaping Cassandra heads directly into the bathroom hoping for some privacy. She just needs a few minutes alone, away from William, his scent, his touch. Away from the demands, demands she was going to have to learn to handle on her own. She only needs a few minutes then she’ll start again.

  Looking in the mirror, she sees she’s starting to pale, lack of sleep catching up with her, but there is still so much to do, to figure out. But she can’t present an exhausted Queen to the Assembly, another problem she’ll have to deal with.

  Finding William sitting on the couch, head in his hands is the last thing she expects. He pulls his hands away as she appears but doesn’t stand.

  “Are you ever going to talk to me again?” His voice tortured.

  “I talk to you.”

  “No. You talk at me, not too me.”

  “I don’t know what else you want.”

  “I want what we had before.”

  “Why?” She’s worn out. “It doesn’t matter. It was never anything but a dream, it’s time to wake up.” Starting across the room, she finds her way blocked. She’d forgotten how fast he could move.

  “It matters! Damn it Cassandra! I know this is my fault…”

  “No it’s mine, I should have realized when you promised….but then you didn’t, did you. I just took it that way. I should have realized you were just distracting me, not wanting me to ask questions. You’re able to do that to me, but soon that won’t be a problem.”

  “What promise did I break?” William asks urgently, his mind racing.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “No!” He grips her shoulders, pulling her on to her toes. “Tell me!”

  “A child! Remember, you said you’d give me one. But you’d already made your plans for my life hadn’t you. You’d already talked to the High Admiral about returning to Carina. So I suppose it was a promise after all, I’d have a child, it just wouldn’t be yours.” She can’t keep the pain out of her voice, the tears from falling down her face. The buzzing of the hatch breaks the silence. Gently easing her down, William goes to let Hutu in with lunch.

  “I’ll take it Hutu, thank you.” Securing the hatch, he returns to find Cassandra at the comm center. Setting the tray down, he approaches her. Squatting down, he puts tentative hand on her thigh, needing the contact, she immediately stiffens.

  “I love you Cassandra. The thought of you not protected…again…” The unmistakable pain in his voice causes her to look down at him. “I can’t tolerate it, I won’t.” Realizing he has her attention he presses on.

  “Falco is on me, all me. You tried to tell me, I dismissed you’re instinct, you and Tori paid the price for that. I misjudged. Something I rarely do. As Admiral you’re not allowed too. But with you…you say I make you unable to think clearly...you do the same to me…I want you protected, no matter the cost. Please wait.” William pleads as she starts to rise. Sitting back down, she watches him, her eyes unreadable.

  “My head tells me I’m being unreasonable, but my heart…Cassandra I’ve been in the Coalition for over thirty cycles, in all that time I’ve always been able to make my decisions based on what needs to be done, not who it affects. Even with Lucas on board, I pick the best pilots and send them out. It’s what I did on Earth. But with you, it’s how can I protect you.”

  “I’ve never asked that of you.”

  “No, you never asked, you just trusted me, on the Raptor, when you had no reason too. Then you protected me, even as you knew your family was dying, you protected.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “When the alarm went off, you understood…horribly understood what it meant for your family, but as the blast hit, you covered my eyes, protecting them from the blast. As you tears soaked my hands you protected me.”

  “That’s…”

  “No one’s ever tried to protect me before. I knew then, on that Raptor, that you would be important in my life. I was right. You are my life.” William moves his hands to her waist. A waist his hands could encircle.

  “I’ve always believed you had to be willing to sacrifice if something really mattered to you.”

  “Even if what you sacrifice is what matters?” He momentarily buries his head in her lap. Her fingers itched to touch him.

  “See, that’s what I couldn’t see. I just knew I needed to protect. I needed you to show me what I was doing, but you couldn’t because I didn’t tell you. I’m used to keeping things close.”

  “Just not people.”

  “No. Not people. Quinn is my oldest friend, and even with him I keep a distance. But you shattered all that, you were everywhere in my life, and I wanted you there. Needed you there, but old habits die hard.” William raises a hand to gently caress her cheek. When she doesn’t pull away he knows he has to give her the truth.

  “I knew the Regulians wanted you. I knew if they couldn’t get to you, they would try to kill you. I knew if I could get you to Carina you would be, if not safe, safer. So I did what I’ve always done, I made a decision. I would make the sacrifice, meaning my career. It was easy. Everything I’ve ever done has been leading me to this, to you. But you have to believe me,” His eyes plead with hers.

  “I never meant for it to mean sacrificing you, our future, our child. But once it started I couldn’t see any way to stop it. If that was th
e cost I’d pay it, not you, not Tori.”

  “Admiral to the bridge. Admiral Zafar to the bridge.” The comm center announced.

  “Fuck!” William stands to connect to the bridge when Cassandra’s hand stops him.

  “They want you there for a reason.”

  “We have more we need to talk about.”

  “You’re needed on the bridge Admiral, you need to go.” Cassandra looks into his eyes, the indecision there a testament to what she really does mean to him.

  “Go do you job William, we’ll finish this later.” He’s ready to argue until he hears her say his name. It seems like cycles since he’d heard it.

  “Cassandra…”

  “Please, I need to think. And William,” Cassandra waits until he looks at her. “You’re the Admiral because you make the right decisions, military decisions, Tori and I will always be safe as long as you do.” Leaning down he gives her a wrenching kiss, telling her he doesn’t want to leave.

  “Please eat something.” The Admiral heads for the bridge.

  “This had better be important Quinn.” The Admiral demands entering the bridge.

  “The Regulians have attacked the fleet Admiral. They used nuclear devices. There was heavy damage on both sides.”

  “Casualties?”

  “On all ships, the Sentinel is dead in space.”

  “The First Son?”

  “Unknown at this time.”

  “Fuck! What happened?”

  “It was the same as before, they had the direct coordinates.”

  “Who’s feeding them the Intel? How are they getting it?”

  “I don’t know but Admiral, the Dioscuri reports several ships broke off, after discovering the Retribution gone. They’re heading towards us.”

  “How long?”

  “If we make a run for it we can get to Carina before they catch us.”

  William’s first instinct is to heed Quinn advice and run for Carina, keeping Cassandra safe. But the Admiral knows it’s wrong. To protect Cassandra he needs to make the right military decision.

  “No, go to Alert Status One, I want all fighters in their planes. The Regulians aren’t reaching Carina. Navigation, plot an intercept course. Communications contact the High Admiral, I want a secure line. NOW PEOPLE!!” The Admiral’s furious voice has the entire bridge jumping.

  Cassandra stares at the consul, her fingers unmoving. She doesn’t know what to do. What to think. She didn’t doubt William’s sincerity that’s obvious. He isn’t the type of man to lie, if he said something he meant it. She’s always known that. It’s the things he doesn’t say that keep causing problems. Can she trust he’ll tell her what she needs to know? No matter what?

  “Alert Status One! All pilots to their planes! Repeat Alert Status One!”

  “Attention crew!” The Admiral’s voice booms over the comms. “The Regulians have attacked the fleet. There have been heavy casualties. Two Regulian ships are heading towards Carina, they are carrying nukes. We will intercept and stop them. All hands are to make ready for extreme combat.”

  Cassandra freezes in her chair. How had the Regulians found the fleet again? How had they found the Retribution? Something is very wrong. They were carrying nukes, they weren’t taking any chances.

  She has to get Victoria home. This isn’t going to be a regular attack. The Admiral made that clear.

  “Admiral, Valerian is on the comm, secure line.”

  “High Admiral.”

  “Zafar, what the fuck is going on.”

  “We have a traitor High Admiral.”

  “It isn’t on my end! No one knew what was going on.”

  “At this point it doesn’t matter. You’ve received the reports from the Dioscuri?”

  “Yes.”

  “We are moving to intercept the two Regulian ships.”

  “You consider that wise Admiral with the cargo you’re carrying?”

  “It won’t matter if Carina is destroyed, sir.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Sir, are there any other ships in the area to assist?”

  “None that will get to you in time, I’ve ordered them to surround Carina in case you fail.”

  “Understood sir.”

  “Don’t fail.”

  “I have no plans too.”

  The Admiral knows that while he was on a secure line to the High Admiral the entire bridge has heard the conversation. He wants it that way. He wants his crew to know they’ve been betrayed. It would spread like wild fire throughout the ship. And if the person is on his ship they would be flushed out.

  “Navigator!”

  “Yes sir.”

  “How long to intercept?”

  “Sir, thirty minutes, sir.”

  “Relay the information throughout the ship.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Entering the class room the comms announce thirty minutes until they will intercept the Regulians. Seeing her Aunt, Victoria starts to pick up her bag then sets it back down.

  “Victoria? What are you doing? We need to get back to quarters.”

  “Aunt Cassie…I can’t leave Amina.”

  “What? Amina where’s Javiera?”

  “She has to man a post. She’ll come when the battle is over.” While the little girl is trying to be brave but Cassandra sees the fear in her eyes.

  “Can you call her?”

  “No.”

  “Well you’re not staying here. Come on you’re going with us, I’ll let your dad know once we get back to quarters.” As the girls pick up their things the educator approaches.

  “You can’t just take her with you. A parent has to okay it.”

  “I will call Leander once we’re back to quarters.”

  “That’s not the way it’s done.”

  “Look I really don’t care how it’s done. I am taking both these girls to the Admiral’s quarters. If you have a problem with that then I suggest you call the Admiral, he’s on the bridge, a little busy, but I’m sure he’ll love to talk to you.” Cassandra goes toe to toe with the taller woman.

  “Are you going to call?” As the woman does nothing Cassandra turns, “I didn’t think so. Let’s go girls we need to hustle.” Back in quarters Cassandra turns to the girls.

  “I want you to go into the other room girls. I know you didn’t get lunch, there’s a plate of something on the table, Hutu brought right before the announcement. Go ahead and eat it. I’ll call your dad Amina, tell him where you are, he’ll let your mom know okay?”

  “Okay.” As the girls leave Cassandra sits down in the Admiral’s chair, using his comm center she punches in Leander’s number.

  “Michelakakis.”

  “Leander, Cassandra.”

  “A little busy here.”

  “I know but you need to know that I brought Amina home with me from class.”

  “What?”

  “Javiera needed to man a post I wasn’t leaving her in that classroom alone so I brought her home, to the Admiral’s quarters, with Victoria and me. You need to let Javiera know.”

  “Cassandra…thank you…that’s the safest place on the ship.”

  “So I’ve been told.”

  “She’s okay?”

  “A little scare, I think we all are. What am I supposed to do Leander?”

  “You stay put. Make sure the hatches are secured. Stay away from anything that can fall on you. Once it’s over there will be an announcement.”

  “Leander?” Cassandra hears the break in his voice.

  “Tell my little girl I love her okay? Her mom and I love her very much.” Cassandra hears the fear in his voice. “If something happens…”

  “She’ll be safe Leander. I promise, she’ll be protected, I’ll see to it.”

  “Thank you. Gotta go.”

  Disconnecting Cassandra leans back in the Admiral’s chair. Leander is worried they might not survive this attack. There have been casualties reported within the fleet. The Retribution is alone. The Admiral has chosen t
o attack, to risk, with her on board.

  He said she clouded his mind as much as he did hers, that his need to protect her has caused him to make some bad choices. He admitted that to her. A hard thing for a man used to keeping things close.

  He is making the right decision, even if it puts her in danger. If they went to Carina, the Regulians would follow. They’d nuke Carina, just like they had Earth. The Retribution is the only thing in the way.

  Any doubts she may have, fall away. Yes they still had a lot to work out, things weren’t perfect. Isn’t that what Sabah had said, they’d had an imperfect life, but one together. They hadn’t known what would happen, but they took the chance to live an uncertain life, together with no regrets.

  Is she strong enough to do the same?

  Leander is worried they might not all live through this battle. If William died, with the way things currently were between them, could she live with herself? Not having told him one more time that she loved him? Before she can stop herself she enters the code to the Admiral’s private line to the bridge.

  “Are all launch ports operational?”

  “Yes Admiral.”

  “Get them filled.”

  “Yes sir.” Turning to the ringing of his comm he sees it’s his private line. Picking up his headset he connects the call.

  “Zafar.”

  “I brought Tori and Amina back to our quarters.”

  “Good. I need to go.”

  “I love you.” Cassandra disconnects first. Pushing away from his desk she goes to see what the girls are doing.

  Removing his headset the Admiral looks around the bridge. She still loves him. He’d protect her by making sure the world they lived in was safe, safe for their children.

  “Launch all fighters!”

  “Yes sir. Launch all fighters. Launch all fighters.”

  Back in their quarters Cassandra finds the girls have devoured her lunch. Good thing since nerves have her stomach rolling.

  “So what are we going to do?”

  “We were going to go play in my room if that’s okay Aunt Cassie.”