Leon was sitting at one of the long tables in the cafeteria happily eating the remains of last night's dinner. He had never been much of a leftover man back on Earth, but the concept had really grown on him in the time he had spent on the UNSS Leif Erikson. He thought about it a bit harder, had it already been five-hundred-and-forty-three days? How the time had flown, he shuddered as he thought of their last great adventure. If he never saw a black hole again it would be too soon.
He stretched and stood, bumping Natalia next to him by accident. She slapped him on the leg playfully and said “If you wanted to get my attention there are better ways.” Leon smiled at her insinuation and took his dishes to the dirty dish bin.
He set the dirty tray down and turned back to look at Natalia as she finished her breakfast. He smiled widely even though she wasn't looking. Now that Joice was helping him with the task of keeping the mission running, he found himself with more free time. And Natalia was the best way he had found to fill that time, she was as smart as she was beautiful, and seemed to really like him.
He shook his head at that. He still didn't know what it was in him she was so enamored with, it wasn't his looks surely, and his charm left something to be desired. He shrugged and left it at that, she would likely tell him in good time.
He walked behind her and rested a hand on one of her shoulders before saying "I'm going to the bridge. We are arriving in the next system in a little while, you should probably get to your station before we exit warp just in case. It's just a small red star but red stars are known to be especially active at times." He gave her a slight squeeze before he released her shoulder.
He smiled as she gave his hand a pat and said "Good luck love."
He glanced around to see if anyone was watching before he planted a chaste kiss on the top of her head before walking towards the hall. He just about made it when he felt something pull the back of his shirt, stopping him in his tracks.
As he turned he was surprised by Natalia grabbing the neck of his shirt and pulling his head down to her level before she planted a very passionate kiss on his lips. He tried to resist for a bare moment before he was drawn in, as always. Her lips became the new sole focus of his universe as he met her kiss. The constant phantom pain he felt seemed to melt away and he lost himself in the softness of her lips, the feeling of her hands in his hair and the scent of her in his nose.
After a lingering kiss she released him and fussed with his now tousled hair. Leon didn't mind, he just smiled at her like a buffoon as she tsked and straightened his shirt.
She nodded at her handywork and cleared her throat before saying "Now, that's how you give a good luck kiss Leon." And with that she walked out of the cafeteria.
Leon heard snickering from behind him and blushed furiously as he saw several other crewmates laughing at his expense.
Straightening himself as best he could he grunted "What are you laughing at." The smiles of the crew softened the blow to his pride and he found himself smiling again after a moment.
Oliver, blunt as ever, shouted over to him "Oh you sleepin on the couch tonight for sure, ouh! Hey!" He finished as Dr. Kimathi slapped him on the back of the head.
"And you are on the way to joining him." She scolded.
Oliver ducked his head and whispered fervently to her. Leon chuckled, she had the brash Australian wrapped around her finger so hard he treated her word as holy law. But it seemed to give the man focus so Leon saw no reason to intervene. Plus they were just so darn perfect for each other.
He smiled at Sabine who was giggling nearby and said "Bridge crew on duty in twenty. I expect to see you there."
She just waved him off and turned to Chad who was sitting by her. Those two were obviously in love as well. The crew of the ship had been living in close proximity for almost two years including their training on Earth by now. They had grown as close as family, and closer in several cases, and Leon saw that as a good thing. If something were to happen to any of them Leon didn't know how he would react, it was hard to remain at all impartial to people he cared so much about. He was beginning to accept, with Natalia's help, that this wasn't necessarily the bad thing he had always been trained to see it as.
He moved out and down the hall to the nearest ladder hatch. It didn't matter which he took as they all led to the same place, the ship's core. Leon decided to go straight to the bridge, no reason to delay as they would be exiting warp in just under thirty minutes. It always paid to be prepared.
Leon went through the normal routine of suiting up into a void suit before strapping down to prevent floating away in the microgravity of the ship's core. The spinning habitat rings connected to the main body of the ship via large spokes, several of which doubled as ladderways while the others transmitted things like water and power.
Leon didn't have to wait long before the others began to show, Terry and Taylor arriving almost as soon as he had turned his console on. They looked well rested and in good spirits, Terry giggled as she saw him and he cocked his head but she didn't elaborate.
"What was that about?" He asked Taylor quietly as the communications specialist drifted by him.
Taylor looked at his wife for a second before he whispered conspiratorially "I don't know for sure, but Natalia passed us on our way here and said something to her before she got all giggly."
Taylor raised an eyebrow at him as Leon harrumphed and folded his arms. Damn women and their gossip, by the end of the day every single woman on the ship would have taken her side and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
Taylor's eyes widened as he heard Terry call out to him "Taylor, what are you up to? What did I tell you before we entered the bridge?"
Taylor bobbed his head to Leon before he said "My apologies commander. Terry it wasn't that, it was just, but ahhhh… yes dear." He finished as she chastised him without uttering a word.
Leon smirked. Anyone who said that Humans were a male dominant society obviously had never been married. He turned his attention to his console in an attempt to avoid thinking about what devilish plans Natalia had in store for him. He checked the data they had on the system they were aiming for.
It was a small red star that wasn't quite a red dwarf but neither was it a main sequence star. There weren't any detectable planets in the star's very small goldilocks zone, just a single tidally locked world much too close to the star, but it would likely have extensive asteroid and cometary fields and they needed to refill their fuel tanks. They only needed a source of water or ice to do so, and the system seemed like the nearest good choice.
He shifted slightly in his seat, floating against his harness a bit, he tightened it back down. He really wasn't a fan of microgravity. He once more wished that artificial gravity had been invented so he didn't have to constantly climb ladders and float like a grape in space.
The others trickled onto the bridge one by one till at last, Joice entered the bridge and took her seat near him.
Samuel said "Exiting warp in twelve minutes. Should be in the inner system when we do."
Leon glanced at him and then back to his screens. If everything went according to plan they would be in and out of the system before the star had a chance to hit them with any CME's. There was always the tiny chance they would exit into a CME and get their power knocked out, but that's why they were approaching from the star's northern pole. Most stars were most active around their equators, as that's where most sunspots and magnetic field overlaps occurred.
The risk was still there however and he tensed despite himself as the yellow alert lights flashed on signaling sixty seconds to warp exit.
He counted down the seconds in his head and then felt the ship shrink to microscopic size before it flew inside of itself and him as he turned inside out a million times. He coughed violently as the horrid feeling overwhelmed his body for an instant. That had been particularly unpleasant. Taylor was swearing fantastically and swatting the air in front of him while Terry tried to calm him down and Sabine looked about to hurl.
Samuel shook his head and said "Wow, that was more unpleasant than usual."
Sabine groaned "Auufghh… Remind me never to eat peanut butter cookies before a warp exit ever again."
Leon said "That can't be what did it. Can it?" He asked looking at Joice for confirmation.
Joice was allergic to peanuts and hadn't partaken in the peanut butter cookies that had been served at breakfast from the night before. She shook her head and said "It felt fine to me, a bit strange as always but other than that nothing."
Terry spoke up "I didn't eat any Peanuts either, I didn't want a cookie with my oatmeal. And I feel fine as well." She said nonchalantly.
Leon shook his head in disbelief. There was no way in hell that what they ate had an effect, or was there. He just brushed it off as another case of the truth being stranger than any fiction he could come up with.
"Well, I for one don't want to find out for sure. I'm taking peanuts off the menu before any warp activity." Leon said adamantly. The phantom pain in his side subsiding to its normal dull ache.
Terry said "Huh, Leon, the star seems uncharacteristically inactive for its class. I'm getting some activity, but at levels far below what we were expecting. We should be safe to move to the inner system when we are ready."
"Great, Samuel?" Leon said.
Samuel started and said "Right, erm. We should be fine to.. make a short warp jump to the inner system, will take only about three minutes, then we can scan for suitable asteroids." He said with a shudder.
Leon swallowed and said "Wait!" Samuel visibly relaxed as Leon tapped on his console.
A message soon broadcast through the ship mentioning their suspicions and that it would be recommended to get to a comfortable place in the next five minutes. Leon waited the five minutes on the bridge in tense silence before he nodded to Samuel who activated the warp engines. The yellow alert lights came on as the engines charged and he gulped again.
Sabine whispered something as Samuel said "Entering warp in three, two, oneeeeeee…." Samuel let out a screech and jerked, banging his head off his console.
Leon saw red as every nerve in his body felt as though they were being ripped from his body while he slowly lowered into a vat of acid. While the feeling passed almost instantly, that instant was enough to cause him to double over in wheezing pain.
Joice reached over and started patting his back as he shuddered. His war injuries burned like they had after he was revived. Taylor was pale as a ghost and Terry was whispering into his ear while holding him as best she could from her seat.
Leon looked up at Samuel as the other man gave a small head shake. Leon smiled grimly and said "What, you can't tell me this is worse that that triple workout week Mr. Green had us on, remember that?"
Samuel nodded and cracked a tiny smile as he reached up and touched his head. His hand came away with a small spot of blood from where he had hit his head.
Leon frowned and said "As soon as we stop I want you to go talk to Dr. Kimathi to make sure you don't have a concussion, okay?" He said. Samuel nodded.
A minute later Samuel said a little dazedly "Exiting warp. Five seconds… two, one."
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Leon jerked as something harsh and biting filled his nose and lungs, he coughed and tried to sit up before blinking in confusion. Natalia and Dr. Kimathi were standing above him looking down at him with concern.
He coughed again and said "Natalia, what are you doing here, what happened?" He mumbled, struggling to sit up straight.
Natalia put her arm on his chest and he stilled as she looked into his eyes. The deep hazel pools captivating him and bringing his struggles to a halt.
She sobbed slightly before she said "You wouldn't wake up, I thought… never mind." She said turning away.
Leon frowned and reached out his real hand to her which she took and held close to her chest.
Dr. Kimathi leaned in close to him and asked "What's your name?"
Leon looked at her in confusion? "Leon Muikman. Why? You didn't forget me did you?" He chuckled lightly.
She shook her head and said "Leon, please just answer the questions. Where are you?"
He looked around, the walls were bright sterile white instead of the usual pale sky blue on the rest of the ship. He saw shelves and countertops with various instruments and containers locked down. He turned to her again and said "Am I in the medical bay? What the fuck happend?" He asked her in confusion.
Natalia sobbed quietly again and he gave her hand a little squeeze to let her know he was thinking of her. Dr. Kimathi said "We have reason to believe that the warp effects were greatly amplified in you and several others on the ship. Now the theories as to why that happened are a little varied, but it seems that you were affected the worst. You have not suffered any kind of physical damage that I can find, but you may have suffered psychological trauma. Unlike Samuel who banged his head and received a minor concussion." She finished.
Leon gave her a startled look as he asked "Oh, is Samuel okay?"
She smiled at his question and said "Well, it's good to see that you are still acting like yourself, and yes he's fine. A little rest and an icepack should see him right as rain in a few days. You on the other hand, I can't figure it out. Your neurological scans are all over the place but they aren't wrong, just amplified. I've never seen anything like it. They have been going down steadily so I believe you will be fine, but I want you to stay here till we are sure. Okay?" She said in a slightly stern way that broke the illusion that she was giving him a choice.
"Yes ma'am." He said.
"Good. Now I'll be back in a little while, Natalia will keep an eye on you while I'm gone. And that's all you'll do." Dr. Kimathi said to Natalia with a stern look.
Natalia nodded tersely and said "Yes, he's under my watch."
Leon watched Dr. Kimathi leave and then turned to Natalia in time to get a crushing hug from the smaller woman as she finally burst into tears. "I thought you were… hurt." She managed to gasp out between sobs.
Leon pushed her back off him to her confusion, he just asked "Help me sit up please." Natalia nodded silently, her face red and tears leaking from her eyes.
As soon as she got him sitting, leaning against the wall behind the examination bed, he pulled her into a proper hug. She started to sob again and he stroked her dark hair softly and murmured to her "I'm okay Nat, I'm fine. Nothing happened and I'm sorry I scared you. You know I would never do anything to hurt you."
Natalia nodded silently as he talked to her, calming her till her sobs turned to small hiccuping cries. Eventually she stopped and he patted the bed next to him. She climbed onto it and he pulled her into another hug, this time leaning her back against his chest with his arms across her belly.
She rested her head back against his shoulder before she asked "Are you okay?"
He chuckled lightly as he said "I'm fine, really I am. Are you okay? I'm serious, are you alright Nat?" She tensed a little in his arms but relaxed just as fast as she detected the genuine concern in his voice.
"I, I don't know. I thought you were hurt, I didn't know if you would be okay, you wouldn't wake up." She started to wail but he quickly kissed her ear and spoke.
"I'm fine, it's over Nat. I don't know what happened, please tell me." He felt her take a few deep breaths before she turned her head to look at his sideways.
She began slowly but gained confidence as she spoke, as if the act of telling was somehow making it better. "Well, we exited warp and it was bad, as bad as the first time. I felt, I can't really describe it. It was like the universe was coming out of my eyes, and it burned. But it was over quickly. After that we all got your message and I went to my room to lie down, and the next one was just as bad but different. After the third transition, Dr. Kimathi called me to the infirmary. I got there as…" her voice broke a bit and he gave her a reassuring squeeze.
She took a breath and continued "Dr. Kimathi and Terry brought you in, you weren't moving, just, still. Like a statue." She said with a strained tone. She cleared her throat and he shifted a bit as she started speaking again "You weren't moving and Terry told me you had started screaming before going limp. She said it… was a horrifying sound. The sound of terrible pain. Like you were dying…" she trailed off.
Leon frowned, he didn't remember that, but that wasn't too surprising he guessed. He must have been unconscious before he had even vocalized. He said "That's strange. I don't think I have ever screamed like that, except…" he sucked in a breath.
She jerked as he stopped and shifted to look into his face directly. "What, since what?" She pleaded.
He gulped and said "Since I died, when I actually died…" he said somberly.
She hugged him and asked "Maybe that's what you saw. I can't imagine. Oh Leon, I love you. Please don't go." She said suddenly.
He hugged her back and said "Natalia, I, I love you too. What did I do to deserve you? Why?" He started before she cut him off with a ferocious kiss that simultaneously took away the pain and his breath.
While he had, since their first kiss, had many occasions to partake of such luxury, this kiss was different. In it was passion sure, just as always, but gone was the playful nature of the kiss. This kiss was not one of fancy, but of need, she needed him and he her. Every thought and emotion he had ever had for her and she for him seemed to flow through that kiss in an unspoken wave, his mind was overwhelmed with the sensation and he soon found himself gasping for air as they broke apart. Natalia seemed to have been similarly affected as she took a second to compose herself before she looked at him shyly.
Leon raised an eyebrow in curiosity, she was many things, but shy was not one of them. She looked ready to ask him something but changed her mind and instead snuggled back into his lap. Leon wasn't complaining, the feel of her body against his was electrifying, her breathing a soothing balm for his heart, her smell like a drug. He breathed in her smell deeply and buried his nose in her hair.
She giggled and swatted at him before saying "Hey, knock it off weirdo. What are you doing?"
He chuckled and leaned back against the wall and said bluntly "Your hair smells good."
"That's because I put rosemary and mint in my hair wash so it doesn't smell like chemicals." She explained.
"Well, it's nice." He said.
She chuckled and leaned into him more. "Blessing isn't going to be happy when she sees you're sitting up." Natalia warned him.
Leon chuckled and asked "Oh yeah, and who gives the orders on this ship." Natalia started to respond to him just as a stern voice scolded from the doorway.
"You! What did I say! And Leon, you should know better." Dr. Kimathi said from the doorway to the examination room.
"Sorry Blessing, but he needed…" Natalia started to say before Dr. Kimathi waved a hand for silence.
"Ah ah ah… I told you, eyes only. And you!" She said pointing at him. "Down, now."
He laid back down as Natalia got out of his lap and stood away from the bed. "Sorry, Dr. Kimathi. Nat was upset though, and I didnt want to…" but stopped as he got a hard glare from the stern woman. For such a tiny woman she certainly projected an aura of sinister danger. He decided that silence was his most likely path to survival and she nodded once as he pursed his lips.
"That's better. Now, Natalia, you are welcome to stay, IF, you keep your hands off my patient. Let me make sure he is okay then he is all yours." Dr. Kimathi said.
Natalia smiled prettily and said "Thank you Doctor."
Leon grumbled "I'm right here." But neither of them seemed to notice.
He just lay there as a series of devices extended from the wall above him and over his body in various locations. Faint humming and whirring could be heard from the devices but nothing moved or changed. He knew she was scanning him for any kind of injury or physical distress, she was likely performing a brain scan as well. He tried to clear his thoughts so as to not skew the results too much, but all he could think about was Natalia.
After what felt like about seventeen billion years, he heard Dr. Kimathi sigh and lean back into her chair. She cursed quietly before she said "I see nothing wrong, which is concerning to me. Nobody suffers spontaneous unconsciousness like that and then immediately recovers, there has to be some sort of lasting trauma. But where is it?" She hissed to herself.
Natalia asked "What if it had something to do with the…"
"No! I refuse to believe that cookies are to blame, no matter what you tell me. That's just not how things work." Dr. Kimathi complained.
Leon watched as the machines retracted back into the wall where they had been hidden before Dr. Kimathi rolled her chair over to his side.
She motioned for him to sit up before pulling a pen light from her lab coat and shining it his eyes, he squinted but she seemed satisfied. Next she tapped his knee to check his reflexes, satisfied with her findings she consulted her cams device. The small wrist mounted computer apparently crunching some data for her. She nodded after a moment and then sighed heavily.
"Leon, despite my most scrutinizing efforts, I can't find anything wrong with you, you seem to be in perfectly normal health. Stay here for another few minutes while the blood test finishes, but then you are free to go. She said a little sadly as if she had been hoping for him to be sick so she could fix him.
Right as she finished speaking there was a knock at the doorway. Leon smiled as he saw Terry standing alone and nervously in the doorway.
Dr. Kimathi asked "Yes Terry, what do you need?"
Terry shuffled slightly before she said something quietly that Leon couldn't hear. Dr. Kimathi nodded and Terry walked over to stand in front of him next to Natalia.
Natalia looked at Terry and said softly "Thanks for taking care of him. I really appreciate that."
Terry said "I would have done it for anyone, and thanks to you for helping Taylor, his talks with you seem to be helping him cope." Natalia just nodded, saying nothing.
Terry turned to him and hesitantly asked "How are you feeling Leon?"
He shrugged and answered "I feel fine. I don't remember anything happening, just the countdown to the transition."
She nodded and shuddered as if remembering something unpleasant. "I was worried, you… you seemed to be in pain... unimaginable pain."
Leon waved a hand and tried to cheer her up with a smile as he said "Pffft, couldn't have been that bad. I mean, I don't seem to be injured in any way according to the good doctor." He said, nodding towards Dr. Kimathi whose back was turned towards them as she analyzed some sort of readouts on her computer.
Terry just nodded in a way that told him she wasn't buying it, she didn't push the matter though and instead said "Well, while we were dealing with, incapacitated crew, I set the ships scanners to auto and left them running. I, well… the inner planet isn't dead sir, it has an atmosphere."
Leon sat bolt upright in surprise and ignored the concerned look that both women gave him as he asked "It has an atmosphere? Does that mean it has life?"
Terry nodded and said "The presence of liquid water and oxygen in its outer atmosphere would seem to indicate that. Though what kind of ecosystem would have evolved on such a planet tidally locked to its star is a mystery to me. But the very fact is compelling, wouldn't you agree?" She asked, excitement entering her voice.
Leon nodded and slipped off the edge of the examination bed. Natalia moved towards him but he shook his head and stretched. "Alright. This seems like something that needs my attention. Blessing, everything checks out, may I have your permission to be discharged?"
Dr. Kimathi turned her chair and sized him up before saying "Natalia, he's in your care now. I'm sure you will make sure to tell me if there is anything wrong." The woman said in a tone that left little room for disagreement.
Natalia stood by his side and replied "I will."
Leon clapped his hands and rubbed them together as he said "Alright, what's this business about the closest planet being inhabited. What information do we have?"
Terry joined him and Natalia as he started walking out of the medical wing. "Joice authorized me to launch an orbiter, we should be getting feedback in about fifteen minutes. Other than that we are too far out for a good look. But Samuel plotted a course and we should be there in a few hours." She said.
Leon nodded and turned to Natalia as he said "We have a few hours it seems. I'm feeling a bit hungry, would you join me for lunch my dear."
Natalia rolled her eyes but reached for his hand and said "Men, always thinking with their stomachs. Yes I'll join you, I might even eat something too."
Leon smiled at her and turned to Terry as he placed a hand on her shoulder and said "I don't know what happened. But you have my gratitude Terry. It is entirely possible that you saved my life, and I won't forget it. But for now, you should get back to Taylor, If I know him he is likely needing you more than I am."
Terry nodded and said a goodby to Natalia before she rushed off. Leon hugged Natalia to his side as they walked down the hall and whispered into her ear "I'm glad you care, and I hope you can forgive me."
She glanced at him before saying "For what? It wasn't your fault, and you're okay now so that's all that's important."
He grinned "So does that mean you are going to let me off the hook for this morning?" He said in a hopeful tone.
She laughed and said "Oh no, you are going to have to make that up to me later."
He laughed as well and said "It was worth a try. I'm sure I'll think of something." They continued down the gently curving hall together, chuckling at the little things in life that had seemed so important. There was much to do, but for now, in this moment, he put all that aside. There would be time for worry again later, for now, happiness.