OrbForce: A Sci-Fi Lesbian Romance Read online

  Back in my room I felt like I was unraveling. Was this all because I had never grieved for Nelson Vokbar? Things had changed rapidly in my life and would soon change even more once my final mission was complete. I was more robotic in my response to all the change, but perhaps my human side was a little more connected than I had realized? I decided that later that afternoon I would call Maria to check in on her and see how she is doing and then maybe go to the memorial exhibit set up in the library on OrbForce. I was going to get through this on my own. I was sure my connection to Commander Callow was somehow rooted in my loss of the former Commander and once I finally grieved for him, the magnetic attraction I felt in her presence would dissipate.

  Maria was warm as always and concerned about me. Apparently, Commander Callow had developed a bit of a friendship with my “mom” and let her know about my indiscretions. Maria cautioned me to stay focused and reminded me that Nelson always believed in me. I felt a lump building in my throat and tried to end the conversation but she wouldn’t let me out of it that easily. I finally sobbed about missing him and she cried too. I told her I was concerned that this would be my final mission and I felt lost about my future. She urged me to think more positively. She assured me that OrbForce would find somewhere for me to go after this mission was complete if it was decided that Ulum couldn’t trust me. She encouraged me to trust the new Commander and to always believe in peace. I felt much better after talking with her. Say what you will, sometimes you just need a little mothering to get through the tough stuff and as much as I would like to pretend I didn’t have emotions, I did. I had many of them and repressing them was finally catching up to me. Maria reminded me to focus on what I do best and the rest would fall into place.

  Later I went into the library to visit the tribute that had been put together to honor the legacy of Commander Vokbar. I remembered the first time I met him. He had selected me from a group of three others to be the Ambassador; a key position in keeping the peace between our planets. He believed I was the best for the job and I tried to never disappoint. As I looked over a list of his achievements I could feel the pangs of guilt creeping into my heart and mind. This is what I had not dealt with; the guilt. I felt responsible for the rogue Ulum attack that left the Commander dead. I should have known. I should have been more persuasive with the Ulum General to do something about these Ulum. His death was somehow my fault and in that moment I felt the crushing weight of what I had not faced yet. I collapsed onto my knees and felt pressure in my chest making it hard to breathe. Now I felt physically out of control and tears streamed down my face. I buried my face in my hands and started to sob again right in the library for anyone to see. As I kneeled on the floor crying, I felt a hand gently squeeze my shoulder, but I didn’t stop. I could feel the energy releasing from my body and I needed to get this cry out of me. I already knew who was there without looking up.

  Commander Callow asked if I was okay and through sobs I said I was fine. I asked to be left alone to grieve in quiet. Her hand released from my shoulder and I heard her footsteps fade, but something told me she hadn’t gone far. I sat down on a nearby chair and thought about the better times. I remembered when Nelson and Maria took me out for my birthday the first time and each year after. I remembered his sense of humor and his incredible intelligence. I wondered what he would think of this plan that Ruth and her intelligence committee had put together to manipulate Ulum into a false sense of security. Would he agree with a mission that would clearly mean the end of my career with OrbForce? He would most definitely find another job for me on OrbForce. Commander Callow hadn’t even mentioned it. Did she think I didn’t realize what this all meant for me? Did she think I was going into this blindly? Clearly she didn’t care about my future. Peace was her priority as it should be. Whatever casualties came in the name of peace would be worth it. She was focused on her job and that was why she was Commander. I let my eyes close and before I knew it I was asleep.

  When I woke up, the Commander was in a chair facing me on the other side of the room. She looked like she was just waking up too. I checked my watch to see how many hours I had missed our meeting by. I looked up at her when I realized how late it was and she smiled warmly. She asked if I was okay and I apologized for missing our meeting. She invited me for coffee back in her office.

  She asked me to talk about Nelson and she told me about her relationship with him too. It hadn’t even dawned on me that of course, she had known him well too as she had worked as his direct report for years. Her expression was sad and I confessed that I felt guilt about his death and I asked if she blamed me for it too. She reminded me that many have died in this fight for world peace and there was no one to blame except those who pulled the trigger. She was incredibly wise for her age. Maybe I could call her a friend one day, but for now, my guard was up.

  We spent some time reviewing the intelligence reports and her team was accurate in their assessment of General A001 and his/her human-like expressions. I was incredibly disappointed that I had not picked up on it.

  We discussed plans to set up a meeting with all Ulum leaders, including the Ulum Earth Infiltrators, and myself. I would have to manipulate General A001 into coordinating with the rogue party. I planned on scheduling a video-conference with the General later in the day. I would have to use this new intelligence in order to get everyone together and display weakness and lure all into a false sense of security with regard to our plans. I would have to offer up the idea of trades and possible prisoner releases in order to get all Ulum to the same table. I was sure now that I could sell this easily to General A001. Once I had her on my side, she would get her peers on board. Shortly before I departed, OrbForce would be attacking the most populated villages in each sect of Ulum and after I launched into orbit, the Ulum leadership would be forced to surrender or be wiped off of the planet once and for all. I was fairly certain that the rogue Ulum would be taken out regardless of their participation in surrendering, but those details were not up to me. Whoever survived would never trust me again so that would be the end of Ambassador Z. This would be my final trip to the red planet that I now loathed for all the senseless loss of life that those living on it had caused.

  Ruth and I went over the plans and I agreed to follow up with her after my video-conference with A001. She asked to conference in with a black screen so that Ulum wouldn’t detect, but we couldn’t be sure about their latest developments in technology so we decided she would have to just review the recordings after the fact.

  During our meeting Ruth stayed behind the desk, likely to keep a safe distance from me. She continued making deep eye contact with me and I was trying hard to not let it affect me, but there was something about her voice and how she looked at me that had me wanting more. My mind was quick to take control and remind my heart and body that more was just not in the cards. I was better off waiting a couple of weeks and returning to Earth to find Abby and see what might be in store for us there. After this mission I would likely have plenty of time to explore all my options. When we finished our meeting, Ruth stood up to see me out. She came out from behind her desk and brushed my hand in an awkward attempt to hug or handshake. I wasn’t sure what to do at that point, so I just smiled. She smiled and said she would see me after my video-conference with A001. I nodded in agreement and left before it got anymore awkward.

  Halfway back to my room I realized I had forgotten my comtal and went back to retrieve it from Ruth’s office. I stood outside her door and could hear her talking to someone. Her voice was too muffled to understand her completely, but I definitely heard her mention my name. My heart was racing now and I wanted to know who she was talking to and what she was saying about me. I waited a few more seconds before pressing the entry request. The doors slid open and the Commander had a look of surprise on her face as though she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. I didn’t let on that I had heard anything. I merely smiled and pointed at my comtal on the chair. She told the person on her comtal t
hat she would get back with them and disconnected without waiting for a response. I tried to peek at her screen without being obvious, but I was unable to see anything. Her screen had a blackout option for security purposes so it couldn’t even be picked up on any video surveillance on OrbForce.

  “I apologize Commander, I forgot my comtal.” I said.

  “I am always happy to see you. No worries Z.” She said.

  “Oh,” I didn’t know how to respond, “Ok well I will get out of here. Sounds like you are busy.”

  “Z,” she paused, “I don’t want,” another long pause. “I don’t want things to be weird. Was it weird when you left or was that just me?” She let out an awkward laugh.

  “Yes, it kind of was.” I smiled. “I am sorry. It is just…”

  “What?” She asked.

  “I am attracted to you. I am working on it. I don’t want things to be weird because of that. I will not be throwing myself on you again. I mean people walk around attracted to one another all day and it doesn’t have to be weird. We have a serious mission to accomplish and I get that. I am here to do a job. After the mission is complete, I think we both know I won’t be around anymore.”

  Commander Callow looked like she had seen a ghost.

  “You and I both know that Ulum will never trust me again. My time as Ambassador will be over,” I said.

  She stared at me intensely.

  “You did realize that, right Commander?” I asked.

  “Of course, yes, but it’s just we haven’t discussed it.” She seemed nervous.

  “Did you think it wouldn’t have occurred to me?” I asked.

  “No, no of course not. You would absolutely know that. I just…I guess I just wish I would have brought it up sooner before this,” She said.

  “And now I have made things weirder.” I smiled.

  Commander smiled back. We stared at each other for several long moments before she walked toward me and pulled me into an embrace. She held me tightly and the warmth of her body surged through me. I couldn’t speak much less resist. When she pulled back I saw a tear rolling down her cheek.

  “Hey, are you okay?” I asked.

  “Must be allergies,” she laughed. We both knew allergies were eradicated on OrbForce.

  “Nice try,” I said.

  “I am fine. I really don’t know why I got so emotional in that moment.”

  “Well it’s not like I am dying.” As the words left my lips I felt knots in my stomach. There was always the possibility of being killed on planet Ulum, but I had a great security detail and felt fairly safe.

  Commander didn’t respond to my joke. Maybe she too thought about the dangers for a moment. I didn’t think much of it at that point.

  “I appreciate your honesty, Z.” She said.

  “Of course. Honesty seems to always have a better ending, doesn’t it?” I asked.

  Again she didn’t answer my question.

  “Let me know how your call with A001 goes, okay?” She said.

  “Of course. I am on my way to coordinate now,” I said.

  She grabbed for my hand as I walked through the doors allowing her fingers to brush through mine as I left her office.

  The knot in my stomach had stayed since I made my dark remark about dying and I couldn’t shake the ominous feeling all afternoon. I had coordinated with Ulum to conference call with A001 at 3:00 a.m. Earth time. I had a few hours to get my thoughts together and work on my sell. I had to convince A001 that we were falling apart and needed their help. I had to make her believe that we were ready to talk about sharing our soil with them and possibly giving them some control over sections of Earth.

  I wrote down some notes and reviewed some of the intelligence information that Commander Callow had provided. I would be more aware of how my words affected A001 in this conversation, but I had to be careful not to be obvious or appear distracted. I thought about my conversation with the Commander and wondered why she avoided my questions. Maybe she didn’t like to think about the worst possible outcomes of things. But that didn’t explain why she avoided my question about honesty. She must have thought it was rhetorical. I tossed the conversation around in my head and stayed on the hug we shared for a bit. Her touch was electrifying, but I couldn’t understand why when she hugged me she then shed a tear. I told myself I would not make light of dying around her anymore and then joked that maybe I would if it would lead to more hugs. Her warmth felt like the coziest blanket and I longed to stay wrapped up in her, holding her in return. But this was just not meant to be. Like some sort of awful star-crossed lovers sort of thing, the timing was wrong for us.

  My conference with General A001 went according to plan. I shared my personal loss with A001 and she extended condolences and dropped her guard from there. She explained that the forces that killed Vokbar were rogue and would be handled for violating the rules of engagement. She told me that she didn’t agree with the rules personally, but went along with them because of me. She confided that I was the only human she could ever tolerate and hoped that the new Commander knew that I would not be replaceable and if any personnel changes were made in my position, it would negate all agreements that are currently in place. I agreed to relay the information to Commander Callow. Our encounters were of course being recorded and I had no doubt that the Commander was listening as we spoke, but I wasn’t going to share that information with the General. I did decide I would have a little fun at the Commander’s expense though. I told the General our new Commander was sure she was in over her head. I insisted that the General would have to trust me as we navigate through this transitional period and I was sure I could manipulate the new Commander into acquiescing to almost anything the General wanted. The General apologized for the rogue forces and was delighted that I felt I could negotiate some territories on Earth for Ulum. We agreed that a summit with all Ulum leaders and myself would be helpful. I asked if she would like anyone else from Earth to be present and she asserted that another human at the table would be too hard for some more militant Ulum to resist killing. She was able to protect me, but couldn’t guarantee the safety of another human. As our meeting came to a close I asked the General if we would be able to have some time for just the two of us to talk privately about some other opportunities I felt that might be available for her Ulum forces to enjoy. She seemed surprised and pleased with my offer and agreed. Now, I had her exactly where I needed her. It would be up to Ruth to ensure that the media on Earth distributed the same message.

  After we ended our conference my comtal was flashing with an incoming request from Commander Callow.

  “I’m in over my head?” She asked.

  “I thought that was a nice touch too,” I returned.

  “I think it was completely unnecessary,” Ruth said.

  She was not happy with my adlibbing, but it worked so there wasn’t much she could do about it. Backtracking now would ruin our progress. She lectured me on sticking with our strategy as it was discussed and I argued that she would need to trust me to handle the conversations as I saw fit. It was clear she wasn’t used to having subordinates oppose her. She didn’t say it, but she seemed to actually like the challenge.

  The next morning I flipped on my comtal to see the coverage of a deal between Earth and Ulum was on every social media and news outlet there was. The Commander was set to do a press conference later in the day with leaders of all nations on Earth appearing with her as a show of support. This would be the biggest coup in the history of media manipulation. When the humans on Earth find out the truth, once the mission is complete, Commander Callow will become a superhero. She will forever be a shining star in the history of Earth. Her name will be imprinted in every textbook, and children across the planet will be carrying around Commander Callow dolls. I took a moment just to soak in the news as though I didn’t know what was happening. I wanted to feel like any other human on Earth was feeling right now. They all were probably feeling shocked, hurt, disappointed and scared about the f
uture. They were all probably reeling from the idea that the leaders of all nations had agreed to give in to Ulum. This would be hard to get over. Would they ever trust OrbForce again?

  I headed to Commander Callow’s office after breakfast to review the plans for the day. She welcomed me with a warm smile and I congratulated her on the press coverage. She was quiet and seemed unimpressed with herself. We reviewed the details of the press conference. Everyone would be ported in as live holograms in the Earthdome located in the former UK territory. It was too difficult for all the nations’ leaders to travel to one place that day so holograms would have to work. On television, no one would even realize they weren’t there in person. She asked if I wanted to join her in her office while it was filmed. I thanked her for the opportunity, but was sure I would be in the way. She assured me I wouldn’t and insisted I stay.

  As the technical crews arrived and began setting up in the Commander’s office I watched while she had her hair and makeup done. The finished product took my breath away. Her charisma poured from her smile as the red light went on and she began to address planet Earth. I was mesmerized seeing her work the camera, in person. She had a natural ability in front of the camera that couldn’t be taught. When she was finished, even I believed her. Her words, her delivery, and her ability to connect with an audience through a camera lens were absolutely breathtaking. The technical crews wasted no time breaking down their equipment and vacating her office as soon as her portion was completed.

  After everyone had left, she asked me what I thought. I told her she was beautiful on and off camera and prefaced that with the clarification that I was not trying to flirt with her, but rather being honest. She thanked me for the kind words and offered me a drink. I decided one drink wouldn’t hurt. We sat on the couch in her living quarters and sipped the same delicious wine we had enjoyed several nights prior.