BOOM! Debris showered Mike as missile exploded nearby. The blast knocked him off balance, but he pushed ahead, cutting down anyone or anything that stood to oppose him.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTGflTGhnJ
"Commander!" a voice called. "Commander, wait!"
Mike dove as another missile shot toward him, but popped back up as soon as it passed. "Try harder, bastards," he growled.
"Commander Stevens!" the voice insisted. A splatter of blood sprayed across the Commander's face as his sword slashed an opposing captain's throat. His objective in sight, he charged forward, blocking out all distractions and slaughtering all opponents and threats. But before he could make his final advance, he found himself surrounded by the enemy.
Motherfuckers, he thought...
Cold sweat drenched Mike's face and back as he woke with a start. Images whirled through his head as he tried to slow his heart rate.
"It was just a dream," he told himself.
Ah, but it was a dream manifested by your foolishness, a nasty voice said from the back of his head.
"But a dream, nonetheless" Mike reasoned.
"And you are a fool nonetheless," the voice retorted.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqs0zI4eQhd
"IT WAS A MISTAKE!" Mike screamed back.
"Commander Stevens?" a small voice said from the doorway. Mike turned toward the door, incense raging in his eyes. Vanessa took a tentative step back and mumbled something about coming back later.
"Wait!" Mike panicked. "Please come in. I could...I could use the company," he admitted. Still a bit hesitant, the raven-haired Ensign stepped back into the room, but maintained her distance, eyeing something in her Commanding Officer's hand. Mike followed her gaze and was surprised to find that he was pointing his plasma pistol right at the young woman's heart. He delicately placed the weapon on his bedside table and made to get out of the bed.
"I promise I won't hurt you, Vanessa," Mike said seriously. Vanessa smirked as she walked further into the room, taking slow and deliberate steps toward the Commander. Mike froze as Vanessa reached the bed. He could smell her lavender body wash and shampoo, especially as she bent over so that her lips were level with his ears. Electric jolts shot through Mike's body as Vanessa traced his biceps with the tip of her fingernail.
"As if you could," she whispered sensuously.
"Are you trying to seduce your Commanding Officer, Ensign?" Mike asked, half-amused. At this, Vanessa stood straight and laughed outright.
"Believe me, honey. If that were the case, the deed would have been done already." Mike paused to appreciate the double-meaning of her words before turning stoically to her.
"Was there some sort of emergency, Ensign?" he asked.
"W-Well, no." Mike couldn't help but notice that Vanessa had reverted back to a tentative and hesitant state, but pretended not to notice.
"Then, to what do I owe the pleasure of such a late night visit?" he asked. Again, Vanessa hesitated before answering as she took a deep breath to gather her courage.
"As members of the Royal Guard, we have an obligation and duty to protect the Queen and the rest of the royal family by any means necessary and at all costs. Failure to do so would be a dereliction of duty and treason to the highest degree of the law."
"As would disobeying a direct order from the Queen, as I have already stated," Mike said clearly annoyed that Vanessa chose this hour to revisit this issue.
"We also have a moral obligation to get the Heiress back home safe," Vanessa continued as if Mike had said nothing. 'She's our friend." Vanessa was happy to see the man startle at the last comment and kept rolling while momentum was on her side. "She needs our help, and friends don't abandon friends when they need help." She inwardly cringed at her cliched argument, but she felt she got her point across effectively.
"My orders were clear," Mike said with forced calm.
"Your orders are not my orders," Vanessa responded heatedly.
"Your orders come from me and I order you not to pursue Melanie!"
"I WASN'T ASKING FOR YOUR PERMISSION!" And with that said, Vanessa stormed out of the room before Mike could respond, slamming the door behind her.
The tension between Mike and Vanessa was still extremely high in the morning. They kept throwing each other dirty glances and went out of their way to inconvenience the other. Their colleagues, in the meantime, were split between fear and amusement, but sought to stay out of the blast radius of the obvious ticking time bombs. As everyone took their usual seats in the lounge room for breakfast, there was a collective inhale as the Commander and the Ensign realized that they were sitting right next to each other. The two antagonist stared each other down for about half a minute, but nothing came of it except for Vanessa defiantly turning away from Mike, taking great care to hit him in the face with her sheet of black hair.
"Ahem," Walker cleared her throat. "So what's the plan for the day, Commander?"814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJRonHUv92Y
"We wait for the Queen's instructions," he said stiffly.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSEmE3HhRh
"But I thought the Queen's instructions were perfectly clear?" Vanessa said in mock confusion."Were her orders not to proceed as normal?" 814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTwUDED9dm
Immediately seeing the trap the Ensign was setting, Mike responded, "As normally as possible." 814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfmDcrwxgJ
Dropping all pretense, Vanessa picked up right where she left off the night before, "Well, my normal involves me protecting three royal family members, not two and forsaking one for the hell of being the Queen lapdog," she spat.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnFtDuItii
"Doing what I'm told isn't being a lapdog!" Mike shot back.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8m6tmx0PW
"Oh, I'm sorry," Vanessa said sarcastically. "I meant the Queen's BITCH!!!" 814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58wk5U9uaX
Now nose-to-nose with his Ensign-turned-opponent, Mike screamed, "THE ONLY BITCH I SEE HERE IS YOU, JOHNSON!" 814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IaIiPYI2G
SMACK! Mike fell back as Vanessa's blow caught hard and clean across the face. By time he recovered, the Commander saw his most trusted ally and best friend storming out the door, much like the Heiress before her.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3aK5qJW2KP
