Finding Darkness

Chapter 61 General Quarters

Malachi awoke with a start. Had that just happened? Had he really just spent the entire night with the woman of his dreams? He wasn't sure as he blinked the sleep from his eyes, until he realized he was still naked, and the body on his chest, rising and falling in deep slow breaths was indeed naked as well.

His mind made its way back to yesterday afternoon and last night. She was everything he'd dreamed a woman could be, soft, kind, willing to learn as slowly as he did, yet at the same time she was something else. He had been raised with the thinking that most women had sex because they were obligated to by the need to procreate or their husband's sex drive. They did it because they had to, not because they had any compelling reason to. Tamar had shown him how wrong he was.

Tamar, as with everything she did, was fierce. She knew what she wanted and even though she had no more experience than he did sexually; she didn't let that stop her. She took the old saying that if at first you don't succeed, try again, and again, and again, to the extreme.

Not that he was complaining. The last twenty hours were filled with more passion than he could have thought existed. Now he knew why he had waited for the one God had for him. Their was no regrets between them, no shame, neither of them had anyone to compare each others performance to. They both could be the most inept people on earth in bed, but to both of them, they were the best in the world.

With a start, Malachi felt a tiny arm wrap itself around his waist.

"How in the world did you wake up before I did?" Tamar asked in a voice that dripped with a mix of equal parts relaxation and exhaustion.

"That's because you did most of the work last night, and yesterday afternoon, if I remember right." Malachi replied as he rolled over and away from her.

Standing, he walked towards the small lake.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tamar asked.

"I'm thirsty. Don't worry, I'll be right back."

Tamar watched him go with wonder and lust. Without his suit, or any cloths she finally was able to see him, the real him. He was chiseled; he didn't have huge muscles, but the ones he had were lean and strong. He moved with the grace of a natural born predator, no energy waist, each move blended into the next.

Like last night, she'd been so nervous, not knowing how to do what her body was screaming at her to do. All of her fears were put to rest the instant she'd felt his strong arms wrap around her. He'd waited for her, had let her take the lead so that what happened was at her pace, and once she realized he was waited for her, it had given her the freedom to pounce, and pounce she had. She'd unleashed on him all the pent up energy she'd been building for over a month. Tamar had explored every torrid thought and passionate impulse she'd ever had, and he'd seemed more than ready to help. At least he'd seemed to be last night.

Now she just stared at him as he walked naked to the water. On the return trip, he couldn't take her eyes off him. He was magnificent. His energy and staying power was more than she'd expected, and almost more than she could handle. If it wasn't for the fact that he had about as much of a clue as she'd had, she would have exercised herself into unconsciousness.

Giving Tamar a glass of water he'd gathered from the lake, Malachi waited until she was finished before he squatted down and took it back. Throwing it aside, he stared into her eyes, watching the fire return. Only this time he wasn't going to let her take anything. He was going to show her just how hard it had been for him to keep his hands off of her for all these weeks.

Grabbing her by the shoulders, he pushed her onto her back and laid on top of her. Resting his weight on his elbows, he buried his face in the hollow of her neck. Nibbling, stroking, he slid his lips higher until he had an earlobe between his teeth. Running the tip of his tongue over it, he felt Tamar's body go ridged.

That's when the lights went out, all of them, all at once. Every light within the artificial habitats was artificially generated, so when they went out Malachi held his breath, dreading what was going to come next. So, when the red warning light began to strobe, and Centrals voice boomed.

"General quarters, general quarters, all hands man your battle station. This is not a drill."

"Is that thing serious? NOW!" Her scream was so loud Malachi thought he'd go deaf.

"Central, what have you got?" Malachi tried to roll to the side but Tamar was having none of it.

"You're not going anywhere," to punctuate her words, she locked her arms around his shoulders, her legs around his waist.

"We have eighty Rougarian craft on approach vectors as we speak. At their current speed, they're nineteen minutes out."

Malachi's suit slid over his body faster than Tamar could track. It covered every inch of him except the impact points of Tamar's body were currently occupying.

"Your not seriously considering going out there, are you? We're on our honey trip, aren't we?"

"I think you meant honey moon, and besides, I'm the best pilot this ship has. I will not let my men go into battle without their commander." Tamar slid to the ground and slumped onto her butt.

"I don't care what you call it, and what about me? I'm your wife, and I need you here." She looked up at him, tears brimming in her eyes.

"I know you do," he dropped to his knees. "But this is the job God has called me to. As much as I love what we were just doing," he watched her cheeks turn red behind her hair. " But if anything happened to this ship while you're onboard, I'd never forgive myself."

"I know." Tamar jumped back to her feet. "I'm just being stupid. Go, do what you do best. Just remember, you have a wife who wants you to come back this time." Leaping to his feet, Malachi gathered her in his arms and kissed her hard on the lips.

"Don't worry, I'll be back once this is done. Just get back to the activated part of the ship. I'll have Central show you the fastest route. Once you get there, stay there. Find a room and don't leave it until I get back. Okay?"

"Fine, I'll be there when you get back. Just please come back." The look in her eyes made him freeze. It brought home the fact that this woman counted on him now. He was her husband, and she his wife, a fact that he was just now wrapping his head around.

"Not to worry," his voice morphed until it was once all trace of humanity left it. "Nothing that flies can touch me." And with that, he was gone. Moving so fast, he seemed to have vanished.

Tamar knew there was no point in talking to him now. He was far too distant to hear her. So she turned in a circle, trying to find the door to the huge space she was in. She caught a white light blinking in the distance and realized it was the door. From this far away, it looked like a tiny dot. Remembering Malachi's warning, she started towards it at the best speed she could manage, her strides eating the yards. It didn't dawn on her how fast she was moving until the door, and the wall it was set into seemed to leap up in front of her. She leaped into the air coming down on all fours, her claws digging deep furrows in the soft soil. Her hands found grip only to have her torso and legs sore over her head, in a split second she was tumbling over and over, only coming to a stop when she slammed into the wall, just to the side of the door.

"What was that?" She asked, picking herself off the ground.

Not having time to think too deeply on it, she slid out the door and began her long trek back to where she really didn't want to go.