OrbForce: A Sci-Fi Lesbian Romance Read online

  OrbForce

  Copyright © 2017 by Brisay Publishing

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

  Dedication

  This story is dedicated to LRC who inspires me to love and create with vulnerability and honesty.

  Chapter One

  I watched as she placed her hand upon the CoN (Creed of Nations) and swore to protect planet Earth. She was the first woman to take the top position in OrbForce and the flashing cameras were hindering my ability to read her expression. I could see tension in her jaw. Was she nervous? Was she scared? Surely, anyone who had come this far in the ranks of OrbForce knew no fear. Her voice was confident as she recited the ARAAN (Agreement of Religions Among All Nations). I hadn’t heard it in a long while. Her eyes flashed a light of hope that shot through my entire body and I was suddenly eager to meet her. Our paths had never crossed in all my time with OrbForce and I was suddenly struck with an overwhelming desire to talk to her and get to know our new leader, Commander Ruth Callow.

  I had worked for our previous Orb Commander Nelson Vokbar for the past 15 years and we had become a family of sorts. He was a great leader and would not be easily replaced. The entire OrbForce Fleet was gutted when he was killed in battle last week, but the excitement of new leadership was starting to revitalize troops. As Ambassador, I was hopeful that new leadership would strengthen my discussions with the administration of Planet Ulum and perhaps peace between our planets could become reality.

  I stared at my comtal (communication portal) watching the press conference after the swearing in of our new leader, Commander Callow. She was a beautiful woman and not only the first female to ever hold the position of Commander, but also the youngest at 34 years old to hold the highest rank. Her power surpassed any nation’s leader and her influence was even greater. I was stirred by her radiance and charisma as she smiled through the predictable questions. She handled the barrage of media inquiries like she had been doing it for years. She had moved up the ranks from a sergeant in the Protocol Squad to First Lieutenant of Weaponry and now Orb Commander. Her résumé was impressive but her mastery of the press left me in awe.

  After the press conference, I spent the next hour looking through the database to gather any and all information I could find on our new OrbForce Commander. Most of her information had been erased from the Open Information System (OIS), but there were a few pictures and random bits of information that kept my desire to know more satiated. I found myself getting lost in her pictures. Her thick golden hair was always pulled back tight and her uniforms were pressed to perfection. Her radiant skin showed no signs of aging, still soft and delicate despite the rigorous battles she had fought. She had an alluring presence that triumphed in a world scarred with war and violence. Images from the press conference were now all over the OIS and I was looking at them with a warmth rising in my body that I had not felt in a long time.

  The woman I had loved with all of my being, Izzy, was killed seven years ago, fighting off a small squad of Earth Infiltrators (EI), the lowest of life forms found on planet Ulum. These ruthless beings refuse to follow proper battle engagement protocol, which I had persuaded Ulum leadership to agree to almost a decade ago when I first became Ambassador. Since losing Izzy, I hadn’t felt an attraction to anyone so intensely as I felt in this moment to my new Commander.

  My comtal started flashing and I jumped back to reality and reached to press the “Accept” button on the screen. I hadn’t even processed the incoming request before I realized I was staring at her now face-to-face. I smiled nervously as she started to speak.

  “Ambassador Erlich, it’s nice to finally see you face-to-face,” she said. No one used my last name anymore, but I liked the way she said it.

  “Commander Callow, uh, hello, nice to meet you as well, “ I answered nervously.

  “We need to meet to go over our next mission. When are you available?” she asked.

  I explained that I had stayed aboard OrbForce anticipating these meetings, which seemed to have pleased the new Commander. She invited me to her office immediately so that we could get the introductions out of the way.

  I felt a trembling sensation throughout my body that I had not felt since my first day as Ambassador. I had been to that office hundreds of times over the last 10 years, but suddenly found myself running through the path I would take in my head. I was shaking with anxiety and anticipation of sharing the same airspace as her. I wanted to be in her proximity more than anything at that moment.

  Before I had a chance to scan my retina, the doors slid open and my breath caught as my eyes met hers. She seemed shaken too, or perhaps I was just projecting.

  “I saw you on the visual shield,” she said as though I needed an explanation.

  “Of course,” I smiled and extended my hand. She reached out and firmly grasped my hand in hers and the warmth of her skin felt electric. My entire body felt light to her touch as her eyes held mine with such intensity that I wondered if she felt what I was feeling.

  “Please sit down,” she instructed as she released my hand slowly, letting her fingers linger with mine as she pointed toward the chair with her other hand. I watched her swallow hard and could feel my own words getting lost in the haze of the heat I was feeling.

  She walked with graceful ease back to her desk and sat with the metal and glass panels of buttons and screens between us. She stared at me for a moment before smiling again.

  “You will have to excuse my manners, I am new at this,” she laughed. My heart thumped in my chest at her smile and casualness. “Would you like something to drink?”

  “No, I am fine, thank you,” I said. I was actually very thirsty at this point, but was struggling to form sentences so I was keeping it simple. I didn’t know what was wrong with me, but I did know that something about Commander Callow had me in a whirlwind of emotions that I had not felt in ages—and I desperately wanted more. The thought of her dismissing me from our meeting made me ache a bit inside. I didn’t want to leave this room now, or possibly ever. I liked how she made me feel. I liked the way her eyes held mine as though we could pause the world around us with those glances.

  She briefed me on where things stood with all the nations’ leaders and the expectation that Commander Vokbar’s death not go unpunished. I hated the idea of retaliation, but was reluctant to voice any concerns at this point.

  “You don’t agree?” She asked.

  I shifted in my seat, stunned by her noticing any change in my otherwise well-known poker face. “Nooo,” the word came out longer than I wanted in a tone that immediately indicated I didn’t agree with everything she was saying.

  “But?,” she pushed.

  “It’s just that, while I grieve for our former Commander, I don’t see retaliation as our best deterrent for an all out war. I worked with Nelson…I mean Commander Vokbar for years and I know that he would not want his death to be our reason to let go of our promise to all people to maintain peace if at all possible.” I tried to explain my reluctance, but I sounded like a liberal westerner.

  “You called him Nelson?,” she asked, completely throwing my train of thought.

  “Well, we worked together for so long, we became more like family. He was like a father to me.” I could feel myself choking up. The reality was, I hadn’t grieved for him or the loss that his death left in my life. Having lost my parents at 18, he gave me guidance early in my career and both he and his wife became like parents to me.

  “I know,” she whispered. “I am truly sorry for your loss. Maria speaks so warmly about you, as though you are her daughter.”


  “I didn’t know that you and his wife were friendly.”

  I was trying to stifle my emotions. My ability for stoicism in any situation was one of the reasons I was given the job as Ambassador. The scientists on Ulum had trained an elite group of natives to read the limbic system messages through human facial expressions and send signals to leadership during meetings and conferences so that they could use the information to their advantage. I was known as the “undetectable” among the Ulum elite and there is even a meme of me being the human without a limbic system. But here I was, just moments from weeping with real tears in my new boss’s office. I should have felt vulnerable, but instead I felt safe with her bearing witness to my lapse in emotional fortitude.

  “We aren’t. She spoke to me moments before I boarded and asked me to look after you,” she said.

  “Oh, yes…just like a mom, right?” I smiled now and forced back the tears welling up in my eyes.

  “Do you want to continue this conversation later?,” she asked.

  “No, please. I understand what is at stake and will follow your directives, Commander,” I said.

  “I’m not sure if I want you calling me Commander all the time either.” Her face lightened up as she reached for my hand. “Perhaps, we can just go by first names in here?”

  I am sure that I was now blushing, my face as flush as the red moon on Ulum, but I could no longer help myself. I sat in silence and directed my gaze toward the floor, hoping she wouldn’t see the effect she was having on me. This was no way to make a good first impression.

  She lifted my chin with her finger and looked at me for a moment without saying a word. I stopped breathing as her touch had now lit a fire inside of me. In this moment I wanted to taste her lips on mine. I wanted to kiss her and feel her warmth against my face. My hunger for her was building and if I didn’t get out of there I was likely to act on it and that would surely cost me my job. I quickly stood up and reached out to shake her hand.

  “Whatever you would like, Commander, err uh…”

  “Call me Ruth, please.”

  “Whatever, you would like, Ruth,” I responded with a smile as I started to make my way to the door.

  “You have not been dismissed.” Her voice was sharp and nearly cut through the back of my head.

  “I apologize Commander. I just thought…”

  “You thought you could leave without scheduling our next meeting?”

  The mixed signals I was getting from the new Commander had my head spinning. I tried to get back to my seat as quickly as I could without tripping over my own feet. One minute we are establishing first-name greetings and the next I felt like I was being reprimanded. I really needed to get out of her office before my insides combusted.

  “Can I call you Z? Isn’t that what everyone calls you around here, Ambassador Z?,” she asked.

  “Yes of course,” I said.

  Hardly anyone used my real name of Zoey and the leadership on Ulum preferred names with letters and numbers. They had no understanding of naming offspring nor could they tolerate learning new names.

  “Z, are you available to meet here in my office tomorrow at the same time?,” she asked.

  “Yes, Comm… I mean Ruth. Sorry, it might take me some time to adjust.” I dared to look into her grey eyes again.

  “I will see you then. You are dismissed Z.” She placed her finger on a print reader and the double doors opened allowing me to finally leave.

  I hurried back to my satellite office suite and collapsed on the couch. What had just happened? Who was this new Commander? What was happening to me? Had she been specially trained to shake the unshakable? I had to find out more about her, so I did what anyone on the OrbForce would do in my position. I went to visit my best friend, CT, in Human Resources to do a quick investigation of my new boss.

  It took some persuading but I finally talked CT, who I had known since OrbForce training, into unlocking the Commander’s personnel record for 10 minutes. Ten minutes was not nearly enough time to scan all the contents of her file, but I was able to view the list of trainings she had completed throughout her years with OrbForce. It was an impressive list, but nothing about limbic system manipulation. Her ability to affect me had me reeling.

  I couldn’t sleep at all thinking about her, our new Commander. I wondered about how I could pull off what was needed for her mission on Ulum without tipping off Ulum leaders to the plan. I tossed and turned with the idea that I would no longer be trusted after this regardless of how it turned out. My time as Ambassador would be over, no doubt. I felt heavy and clouded. My attraction to the new Commander didn’t help. It only added to the tension I was feeling. I closed my eyes repeatedly and tried to focus on my breaths. I thought about calling on MedShield for a sleeping pill but I wasn’t up for the evaluation that would be required. I kept picturing her and I wondered what she was thinking about. Was she sleeping? This was her first night as the Commander and an entire planet was counting on her for peace. I can’t imagine the weight she was feeling. Or was she? She seemed to be handling everything with ease as though she had known this would be her life since the day she was born. Suddenly, I noticed the light flashing on my comtal and I sat up to see what the message was. I pressed ‘Accept.’

  “Commander Callow, is everything alright? Have Ulum rebels attacked Earth?”

  “No there have been no attacks. It’s just that I saw that there was still detectable movement in your room so I realized that maybe you couldn’t sleep either.” she said.

  “No, I couldn’t.” I smiled at the thought of her knowing that she was on my mind.

  “Are you feeling okay?” she asked.

  “Yes. I just have a lot on my mind. I was just thinking about my approach with Ulum and how this will all work.” I said more than I wanted to say.

  “Care to share?” she pushed, almost flirtatiously.

  “I know them all very well and was sorting it all in my head.” I tried to backpedal.

  “Hmm. Well if you aren’t going to sleep, why don’t you join me for a drink and we can talk about it.” She could tell I was trying to avoid talking about my fears and concerns.

  It didn’t matter what happened to me in the end, anyway. All that anyone was concerned with was peace at any cost. I have always known that fact and now had to accept that the “any cost” meant my job. I knew it was for the best, but I just wasn’t sure what I would do next. Of course, I felt confident that any PR firm on the planet would hire me; or maybe I could consult on movies, but I just hadn’t considered life after OrbForce.

  “Unless you plan on sleeping,” she nudged me for a response.

  “I will make my way down. I just need to put on my uniform.”

  “I’ll come to you.” The screen went black.

  I scrambled to my closet to get a uniform on, but the door started opening before I had a chance to change.

  “Commander, I apologize, I did not get changed in time.”

  “Relax Z. It’s after hours. I won’t note it in your file.” She winked. “And please, call me Ruth.”

  She sat a bottle down on the cabinet next to my sleep pod and pulled out two disposable cups. She poured what appeared to be a wine of some sort, but I couldn’t read the label at my angle.

  “Here,” she handed me a glass and raised hers for a toast, “to new beginnings.” She smiled and took a long sip.

  I tasted what was the most amazing flavor I had ever tasted in my life and immediately took a second and third sip.

  “It’s good, isn’t it?” She smiled.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “A hybrid being developed in Italy. It’s not available on the market yet.” She smiled warmly.

  We sat in silence drinking our wine for several minutes. I started thinking about being fifteen years old and sneaking beer into my room when I had a friend spending the night. We drank three beers each and ended up making out all night, blaming it on the alcohol.

  “What are you s
miling about?” Commander Callow asked, interrupting my memory.

  “Oh nothing,” I shrugged, slightly embarrassed. “I was just thinking about the first time I tried beer.”

  “Oh?”

  I smiled, “I was 15 and had a friend over. I was trying to be cool so I snuck a six-pack into my room and we drank it all.”

  “Two girls and a six-pack? Sounds like the start of an old country song.” She laughed out loud at her own joke.

  “Yes, it kind of turned into a country song, back when songs had lyrics of course,” I said.

  “I miss that.” Commander Callow admitted.

  “Me too,” I agreed, “But I guess in the name of peace it was worth eliminating lyrics from songs so as not to offend.”

  “I guess so,” she paused, “So what happened?”

  “What happened with what?” I had forgotten where our conversation started.

  “With the girl?” Commander Callow smiled mischievously.

  “Oh you want the gossip?” I teased.

  “Yes, please. I never get to hear any gossip anymore.” She poured another drink for herself and handed the bottle to me.

  “Well we drank all the beer and made out like 15-year-olds for most of the night.” I paused. “And then the next morning too.” I laughed.

  Commander Callow smiled at the end of my story but didn’t say anything. She started to walk out of the refreshment lounge in my studio and took a seat on the sofa.

  “Sit down.” She motioned for me to join her on the sofa.

  I walked over and sat next to her in the silence. It felt strangely comfortable and I didn’t bother turning on any more lights. We spent the next few hours reminiscing about first kisses and music with lyrics. We talked about our childhoods and how we could still remember the time when ISIS was a threat to all nations, until Ulum made their first strike on planet Earth. We could both remember the passing of the PET (Peace on Earth Treaty) and how it changed humankind forever. We talked about joining OrbForce and shared stories of training embarrassments. I had a hard time believing that Commander Callow could have ever struggled with any part of training. She seemed to embody OrbForce. She promised to show me the proof someday. We laughed a lot and the night quickly turned into morning as we strolled effortlessly down memory lane. She teased me about making out with my friend and threatened to find out her name and bring her on board just for sport. I was enjoying the companionship. I hadn’t had a normal conversation like this in a very long time.