Contort me against your body and mind - Chapter 27 (Early Access) (Patreon)

Bonnie

A ship-wide assembly had been called; and Bonnie wasn't the only one on edge. The apprehension floated through the air filters; every crew member curious as to what could be so important that everyone needed to gather in one place to hear Commander Slate speak.

At least she had a fairly accurate idea of what the oncoming announcement would be, though. Slate had found his solution to the musical issue. What that solution was, she didn't know. She feared a lack of compromise.

Every able-bodied crew member gathered in the atrium, humans on one side and Ailu't on the other. The officers were lined like military units. The medical and maintenance departments milled about at the back of the room. It was hot and cramped, but Bonnie wriggled her way through the crowds to the front left corner. The front row officers glanced across at her, silently informing her she was causing their perfect line to be crooked but didn’t shoo her from their ranks.

On a slightly raised platform at the front of the room, Slate and Ellie stood rod-straight with hands tucked behind their backs. A decorative sheet of glass wrapped around the small podium with a shiny metal railing sat atop.

Slate greeted the silent room. Ellie nodded along with his words with short, stiff bobs of her head. Her blonde hair had been scraped back into the tight bun she had routinely worn before the ambush had put her out of commission. She was permitted to attend meetings, but it had not been relayed to the medical team that she would be on the podium at Slate's side. She had not been cleared to be out of her wheelchair, either.

Slate didn’t waste any time with pre-amble.

“The music is causing too much of a distraction amongst both the humans and the Ailu’t, so I am banning it from this moment forward.”

A pin drop could have been heard in that moment. Bonnie felt as though her stomach were falling out of her. She knew she had to act as quickly as humanly possible.

“Commander Slate," Bonnie called up to him. "Could I have a word with you in private please?”

Slate didn’t bother to tilt his head down to look at her when he responded. “I will not be taking any private questions regarding this decision. If you have something to say about this rule change, you can say it in front of everyone.”

Bonnie’s blood heated. That was not the tone for a lover to use in front of others, secret relationship or otherwise.

“I say this as an advisory rather than a contradiction,” she said carefully. She was inching closer to the platform. The crowds parted for her with perplexed faces bouncing between her and Slate. “But music to humans is as soul stretching is to Ailu't.” She continued to speak louder, ensuring that the whole room heard her words. “It is built into our bodies. Music has been a shared passion between humans since the moment we had the ability to tap a tune." She stepped up onto equal ground with him, leaving only a few feet of metal floor between them. "It is highly important to well-being and morale. I would be very concerned of the effects on mental health if it were to be removed completely from the ship.”

His dark eyes bore into her, burning her. There was a level of respect a commander required, and another level that he deserved. He had chosen to be publicly debated when she had offered privacy.

“It is being removed completely from the ship, doctor.”

She tried again, wary of the malice brewing in the eyes of the human officers. “In my professional opinion-”

“I did not ask for your opinion, professional or otherwise. Do you have a legitimate question or not?”

There was a fire in her belly. For him to speak to her in such a tone under any circumstance was unacceptable. In front of a crowd, despicable. There was one factor more important than her fury in that moment: every other human aboard The Sentinel and their mental well-being.

“Is there any option for compromise?” She was on the border of publicly pleading with him. The man she had thought to be her lover. A lover she had foolishly seen the possibility of a future in.

“Negative.”

“Perhaps rules on when music can be played and how the music is managed?” Her tone was becoming tight, straining against her anger like an overblown balloon. She continued to move forward, inching closer to him in small, unaggressive increments.

“Did you not hear me, Dr Bonnie?”

“I heard you, Commander. But I am doing all that I can to protect you.”

“I do not need protection.”

The ‘shlack’ sound of at least thirty pistols being slipped off their safety setting echoed through the room, and Slate’s chest lit up with target lasers. Every armed human had their weapon aimed at their commander. Ellie snapped her head to him and began to move but the distance was too great between them. Bonnie was closer, stood just beneath his nose.

“They would not dare,” Slate seethed.

“Yes, they would!” Bonnie yelped, snatching him by the elbow and throwing her full weight onto it to pull him down behind the glass barrier as the wall behind him lit up with red-hot blasts that melted the metal into a splotchy circle.

As they fell, he twisted them, curling his body over hers and creating a cocoon against the wall. For a moment, they were nose-to-nose, breathing each other’s breath, staring into each other’s eyes with identical shock. The gunfire was over after the initial round of shots. A warning.

They slowly returned to their feet, Slate lifting her by the waist with a too-firm grip. Bonnie placed herself in front of Slate to face the crowd. Ellie had remained stood, incredibly brave lass that she was, with arms outstretched, palms up. She yelled at them to stand down. The weapons were lowered.

The Ailu't around the room appeared to be in shock, mouths and eyes wide. A handful had their wits about them enough to draw their own weapons but appeared uncertain as to who to point them at. Their arms drooped, too, at the barked command from their Marine major.

The heat of Slate’s body behind Bonnie gave her an adequate idea of his fury. She needed to continue acting fast on her feet. Just until she could show him what the real heat of rage looked like.

“I think we can all agree this is not how we want things to continue.” She could hear the tremble in her own voice but continued to force volume. “We have a great crew here, and so far, we have shown to the Alliance that a mixed military squadron can work incredibly well together. You are all strong and capable and valued on this mission.” Perhaps that was cheesy, but the Ailu’t crew seemed to perk up a little at the praise. Moreso than the humans. “Please, give Commander Slate and I a few minutes to discuss this situation before we make any more rash decisions.” She turned to Slate and gave him what she hoped was a firm look of ‘I’ve gotten you a second chance, take it.’

“Fine, you can have five minutes,” he said.

“Five minutes and if the music is still banned completely then we’re leaving!” yelled a voice from the crowd. They received a cheer of agreement from those around them.

“Well, we won’t be approaching another planet with a city for a few days,” Bonnie advised gently. And that was only if the rescue mission with The Cornucopia was as simple as the alliance would have them believe.

“I’d rather take an escape pod all the way back to Earth than stay another day under this tyrant!” announced another man. The humans cheered this person, too.

Escape pods were slow, clunky, and the worst form of travel in terms of comfort. Bonnie knew Slate had really pissed them off if they were willing to travel in an escape pod by choice. Especially as far as a return trip to Earth. It was worse than a prison sentence for the murder of their commander.

“Five minutes,” Bonnie repeated.

Slate nodded at Ellie, bestowing control and care of the room over to her while he was gone. She nodded back and turned to the crowd but said nothing. He stepped away from Bonnie’s back. She followed him straight through the nearest door.

They said nothing as a room was selected. Neither of them checked the time, either. Slate locked the door behind them.

“Why did you do that?” he hissed.

Bonnie rounded on him with a roaring fire in her chest, filling her ears with smoke. “What? De-escalate the situation?” she asked incredulously. “Because you’re going to get yourself killed or lose half your crew!”

“I meant why did you pull me out of the way of the shots?” he growled. His entire body was bristling with angry energy. It seemed to enlarge him, lengthen his hair, bring about a wild shine to his eyes and teeth. “Why block me with your body?”

“This may come as a shock to you, as someone who apparently feels nothing for anyone, but I would actually grieve for you if you were to die.”

“But why risk your own life?” he snapped, exasperated. His pride had clearly taken a worse hit than a laser. “They showed they were willing to pull triggers, and if they had decided you were a necessary sacrifice, they could have killed us both with one shot-”

“They would not shoot me.” Bonnie laughed, almost cruelly. “I am confident in that, at least.”

“I was confident they wouldn’t shoot at me-”

“I know them, Slate. I know them as people, not as units.”

“Just becau-”

“And I know you. As much as you have made it your personal mission to keep your thoughts and feelings buried deep inside of you, I know why you’re doing this.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” he snarled.

It hurt, but it wouldn’t silence her.

“This is all a grasp at control,” she continued.

“I have control of this ship, Doctor.”

“In title, you do. But after the incident with those tunnel-dwelling twats, you’ve been doing your own version of pencil straightening and rope tightening. All these new rules and regulations that affect the crew’s morale more than they do the ship’s capability in an emergency.” Breathless, speaking in a continuous tone without leaving him a single gap to interrupt her. She had a lot to say, and she was going to get it all out in one go. This may be her only chance. Who knew if they would still be on speaking terms after this. “It’s your attempt to seal a crack that does not exist. Extra drills or new procedures would not have changed what happened. It was sabotage; you know that! What I haven’t been able to work out is whether you pre-empted the side effect of becoming vilified with every new commandment - were you hoping to also punish yourself while you wound metaphorical cogs?”

He glared at her but did not dispute her words.

“You have made it more than clear in the last few months that you believe my opinion, professional or otherwise, holds no value. But I am going to give it to you anyway.” His brows quirked, but still, he did not interrupt. “I believe that Humans and Ailu’t can be mixed safely and work well together. If you let those humans leave, then the trial is over, and we have failed. We may not get another chance to integrate again for years and that would be a great loss to both sides. I like working alongside you and your people. I have enjoyed my time aboard The Sentinel despite how infuriating you can be.” She sucked in a rattling breath and added, “Please don’t let this opportunity go to waste.”

Bonnie was empty. All of the air that had filled her until her skin was stretched tight and her brain was going to explode had flown out of her in one rant. She felt… better.

Slate was watching her with unreadable eyes. No longer a force of pure fury, there was now a cocktail of body language stirring. Stood over her, protective or intimidating? Loose fists, preparing for argument or weary? Flushed face and neck, anger or arousal?

Bonnie caught herself. Perhaps that last one was a tad self-indulgent, but she couldn’t take all the credit. Slate looked as though he had just finished ruining someone. Mussed hair, bright eyes and a lavender tint to his cheeks and throat. His muscles seemed to be pulsing under his uniform. The veins of his throat straining against his collar. A light sheen of sweat lit up his face.

Finally, he spoke.

"What do you suggest, then, Dr Bonnie?"

Doctor Bonnie? It took everything in her power not to react. But if that was how he wanted to continue, she would follow suit.

"Well, Commander, on Earth we have something we call headphones."

"Headphones are earpieces," Slate said slowly. "I know this word. They are communication devices."

"Humans use them to listen to music privately,” Bonnie added in explanation.

"That is very useful, Doctor, but we do not have any headphones on board."

"You have your communication headsets, just like you said. They can be used to play music without use of the attached microphone - when altered using your commander-level permissions in the central system."

"And you never mentioned this before because-"

"Because you never once thought to ask my opinion on the matter, Commander." And she had waited for it. Raised the topic herself, even. Never did he explicitly ask her, so never did she explicitly tell anyone what she knew about the command controls. A back-up for neurodivergent patients with a requirement for headphones.

"It would have been helpful-"

"Is it my role to be helpful?” It wasn’t conductive to snarl at him with such a sarcastic tone. It wasn’t in any situation. But he deserved it. He had been nothing but a snide git since calling the ship-wide meeting. And her role within this crew had been an issue for him since day one. Bonnie was tired. “Or to keep my mouth shut and sign all of your ill officers back to active duty?"

"I have never said that,” Slate growled.

"You think it."

"You are a psychiatrist, not a psychic."

Bonnie nodded curtly and pursed her lips. "Now that I have provided my helpfulness, I have real work to get back to."

Slate huffed, drawing himself back up to his full height. "The ship-wide meeting is not over. I will go back out there and-"

"And I will not be there to watch you parrot my peaceful resolution to the masses.” She turned away. He didn’t stop her pushing her way out of the room. “Goodbye, Commander."