Chapter39 (Susan Ivanova)

With each passing second, Susan found it that much harder to control her anger. After being ordered to transport that scruffy Vanguard, Marcus Cole, to the capital city of Casabianca, she remained on the control deck of her vessel, simmering at the lack of time to offload her valuable cargo. She fought back the fatigue that threatened to cloud her judgement and reached down to scratch an itch that had annoyed her for a few minutes.

"Damn that President…she should be shot. She may look all professional in her business suit and fuzzy hair, but why did she have my only contact arrested just to transport a scruffy individual like you?" Susan glanced at Marcus as the capital city came into view through the haze of red mist and endless expanse of hyperspace.

"I must say, The President is a very smart lady. If your contact was not arrested and she had asked you to embark on this journey out of the kindness of your heart, would you do it?"

"No."

"Exactly." Marcus strolled over to Susan's location and leaned unreasonably close, "The name's Marcus. I thought we resolved this hostility back on Tyrone?"

"Didn't I tell you I am Russian?"

"No you didn't." Marcus stopped in front of her, energised, excited.

"Didn't I tell you I have a bad temper?"

"Oh, now you're talking my language. But tell me, Susan, what will it take to crack that hard exterior of yours?"

Susan watched Marcus stroll around her chair like an over-excited teenager who was confident about his luck. Although Marcus did have a humorous side, she knew he was damaging her image and she had to assert her authority towards her crew. She could hear them snickering at their stations.

"Pull yourselves together. We have a job to do. Any more insubordination will result in discipline, do I make myself clear?"

Sudden silence filled the deck after everyone shuffled back to their stations. Once order was restored Susan turned her focus back to Marcus, who by this stage was eyeing the city through the front windows. "It is a marvellous city, isn't it, Susan?"

All revved up to hammer Marcus and his appalling behaviour, Susan sighed heartily to restore her composure. "It is an impressive city."

Susan stood up from her comfortable chair and walked over to him. She knew this man was interested in her. Why, she did not know, but she was not interested in pursuing a relationship at this time. She had to get her message across and now was as good a time as any. "I'm here to deliver you to the Casabianca authorities and depart as soon as I offload my cargo. I am not interested in socialising or…"

Susan paused for a moment. As if it was some twist of fate, she did feel some hint of sexual attraction to this man, if somewhat subtle. Susan did not question the sudden revelation, but she knew it was not love, more like lust. Perhaps she could have some fun before she finally left. Yes, she felt herself grin slightly at the thought. But of course, these were just her thoughts; but by Marcus's body language, it was obvious he wanted the same thing. Still, Susan knew she'd resisted his charms in the past and knew a sudden change in her behaviour would seem odd. She knew playing hard to get was the only sure way for a smooth transition. She had been due some fun for months now and this man seemed a likely candidate.

Beefing up her chest and changing the subject, she moved forward with her plan. "If you think our relationship is anything more than business, then you're sadly mistaken. I have no time for men and you are nowhere near my type. Just do what you were sent here to do and get out of my sight."

"Why, Susan, at least you confessed that we have some kind of relationship!" Marcus replied, deliberately staring into the abyss of hyperspace, avoiding eye contact. Susan hated that. His boyish charm might have won over many women in the past and his status at being a Vanguard would help considerably, but she was not going to fall into his bed that fast. She decided to resist more.

But as the view of the towering buildings came into view behind the shielded dome of the city, Susan knew this mission needed her full attention and she could not rock the boat just yet. The message from the president's advisers ordered her and her crew to the capital city to deliver one Marcus Cole to the starship Agamemnon.She had no idea what she would find or how to offload her precious cargo of Centauri loot. But she always found a way to make friends and get the dealings she wanted.

But trading in the capital city was risky business. Security was tight and officials at the docks would certainly want to see the loot and levy tax on what she had managed to capture. Any opportunity to gather resources or goods to trade with other cities was paramount and her haul was perfect. Susan expected to lose over sixty percent of her goods. Completely unacceptable!

Susan racked her mind to find ways to skip this tax. Perhaps a disused space-port or landing pad might do the trick. So far, from the communication scans from the console beneath her hand, no one had detected their little ship. Her vessel had been entering from an oblique angle, behind one of the cargo vessels making their rounds. A standard tactic she used to enter this city unannounced and one that had paid off time and time again.

But as the cargo vessel turned in the opposite direction from where they intended to go, Susan rushed to her station, "Quick, follow that farming tanker at a parallel angle. Watch the exhaust wash. If any of the paint peels off my hull, I'll personally have the entire bridge crew out there re-painting this ship from top to bottom."

With the pilots manoeuvring the vessel with nervous movements, Susan watched the pilots manoeuvre her vessel behind one of the farm tankers used to transport water from habitable worlds. She knew they would be stopping on the outskirts of the city, a place that was difficult to regulate. Perhaps she could find new contacts that could exchange her loot. She also knew a few places her crew could rest and perhaps Marcus might make his move before he travelled into the city.

Perfect. Susan could finally relax as a plan formed in her mind.

The tanker was impressive to watch. Its long sleek hull and chrome finish indicated a wealthy corporation that looked after its ships and the hull provided trillions of litres of water sucked from a habitable world. She could only imagine how much water was stored on one of the tanks that were twenty times the size of her ship. Gliding back towards the engine compartment of the tanker, she saw four cones burning profoundly. The light glowed through the canopy, blinding Susan until her vessel came to a rest between all four engine-cones.

Susan lounged back into her warm chair. "Excellent, that's the type of flying I pay you lot for. Now, Marcus," Susan turned her head, "since you're a Vanguard with many years of experience and a desire to explore any facility or planet you set foot on, you must know some people I can trade my cargo to without the local government getting involved."

Marcus appeared to have an idea of his own and Susan felt that she'd just backed herself into a corner, at the mercy of whatever Marcus wanted. She knew he would exploit that moment.

"Well, I might know of a few places that could take the load off you and pay what you deserve, but there is one condition." Susan was right and perhaps that night of passion might come faster than she expected, although the whole situation had come on rather abruptly and unexpectedly. Perhaps she'd caught something while examining that Centauri loot. Perhaps some container containing some potent sex drug had been released and she'd been exposed.

Susan shook her head at the thought and decided to fall into Marcus's trap. She might as well get it over and done with. With a low clipped tone she surrendered to his terms. "What is it?"

"Go out with me!"

The command deck erupted in a flurry of shocked murmurs and gasps and Susan battled the blush that was threatening to give her thoughts away. She'd expected as much, but to hear it was just as shocking as the sudden revelation of sexual need.

"That's out of the question," she barked automatically.

"Really Susan." Marcus leaned on the metallic support beam beside the exit door. "And how much do you want that money?"

Susan refused to comment. She did not trust her mouth and knew it would only run away with insults and denial, denial that her own body yearned for that sexual embrace. The thought alone was rather riveting, but she was not an easy woman. All this time she'd resisted, held back, and now her own body wanted him. What'swrong with me?

Susan felt like her head was in a war with her own body that yearned for sexual contact. She shuffled her firm butt around in the chair and placed her right hand between her legs. She had no choice; she had to give in to his demands.

"Okay, I will…." She could not force the words; they filled her mind, which ravaged her body with excitement. She could not show her desire, or need. It was the perfect moment. She appeared to have no choice in the matter in the eyes of her crew, while deep down, she could satisfy one of nature's primordial instincts. "…I will go out with you."

Grinning from cheek to cheek, Marcus strolled over to the navigation officer with a slight skip in his step and input the coordinates. Overhearing her ensign mutter words like, "Are you sure you want to do this, Marcus? She's one volatile woman." Susan quickly made her escape and left the command deck, besieged with thoughts.