CHAPTER 5: MYSTERIOUS ASTEROID

Tina looked at Ben and shook her head as she settled back into her flight seat. She seen senior officers with more guts than brains go up against Martin verbally over something they felt was wrong. In every case, Martin had slapped them down in as much time as it took for them to formulate the thought. Ben grinned and shook his head as well as he turned back to his instruments and sipped his own mug of coffee.

Martin's expression did not change as he got to his feet and stepped alongside Anja. He didn't see Anja close her eyes quickly as a wave of desire swept through her. A wave of overwhelming desire for Martin, and that stunned her. Martin touched the control panel and the cockpit hatch slid shut with a hiss. Martin stepped back and looked at Anja, who still wore a smug expression on her face. He towered over her five foot three height, but she held her ground admirably yet quite arrogantly.

"Well?" She snapped.

Martin looked at her as he fingered the badges in his hand. "What is your rank Anja?" He asked her in an even voice.

"Excuse me?"

"I asked you what your rank was."

"You know damn well what my rank is!" Anja snapped, not understanding what this was leading up to.

Martin nodded. "Yes! I know what your rank is. And the last time I checked Lieutenant Commander Peterson, I was a full Commander, which means in case you have forgotten, I outrank you."

"What does this have to do with... ?"

"At ease Lieutenant Commander!" Martin barked.

"You have no right to..."

"At ease," Martin almost shouted, causing Anja to take a step back and bang into the bulkhead of the ship. Martin was in her face before she had time to recover. "If you say another word, I'll have the Master Chief lock you in the hold of this ship until we reach EDEN! Exactly who do you think you are to come in here and spout off to me? I decide who gets clearance on EDEN! Me! Not you! And for damn sure not Senator Graham! I don't care what your mission or purpose is. You are still a member of the active duty Navy, and you will follow regulations. If you had looked hard enough at these badges before letting your ego overrule your brain, you would see that yours is a temporary clearance until you assumed your position on EDEN." He glared at her, his dark eyes nearly obsidian in color and they made Anja feel very small at that moment. "As for the good Senator's son, I have no intention of allowing your two bit drunken, drugged up boyfriend any kind of access anywhere on EDEN. He has a criminal record for Christ's sake!"

"Kevin doesn't have a criminal record!" Anja spoke defending him for some reason, but her response was delivered much less forcefully now.

"You should probably take a harder look at your dear fiancée Anja. He does have a record ... and I will not allow him access to any secure areas of EDEN. Period! Senator Graham can scream to the president for all I care. It won't matter to me or to the Admiral. I answer to him ... and his next superior is the President of the United States. Senator Graham does not factor into my Chain of Command at any level thank God." Martin took her hand and slapped the badges back into her palm. "I suggest you take these and go back to your seat before you step way over the line."

"Martin ... I..."

"Save it! You keep talking and you're going to sink your budding career before it ever gets started." Martin spoke.

Ben looked at Tina out of the corner of his eye and grinned, except Tina wasn't looking at him. She was staring out her side window with a look of utter horror on her face.

Ben followed her gaze and his eyes flew open, "Holy Shit!" Ben screamed, dropping his mug of coffee and reaching for his flight controls. "Tina! Full power!"

Tina was frozen in place as she stared at the massive asteroid bearing down on them. It filled her window entirely now, gases and smaller asteroids trailing along behind it.

"Tina!" Ben screamed again, "Full Power!"

His voice was enough to snap her out of her trance and her hand flashed forward to slam the throttles all the way forward to max. Martin and Anja had turned to see why Ben had screamed, only to witness the massive asteroid filling their view.

"Oh my god," Anja muttered.

Ben shoved his flight stick all the way over to the left as the gravity leading the asteroid hit Raptor Two, sending Martin and Anja slamming hard into the bulkhead. Martin absorbed most of the impact and it was enough to knock him silly as Anja's head collided with his jaw. The massive g-force from the turn pushed them against the bulkhead as the Raptor went into a turn it was never designed to endure!

The last thing Martin heard before the heavy Gs forced him to black out was Anja and Tina praying softly before they too succumb to the massive pressure.Tinas voice is what stirred Martin from his fog of blackness. He was jammed up against the navigation computer and he felt a weight on his chest as his eyes regained their focus. He saw the mass of red hair stirring on his chest and ignored the throbbing from the back of his head as the picture of the massive asteroid popped back into his memory. Anja was stirring on his chest, her body haphazardly sprawled across his, her navy regulation skirt hiked quite far up her tanned thigh. He had absorbed the brunt of the impact, cushioning Anjas fall, and if not for his genetically engineered triple dense bone structure, his skull would have cracked open upon impacting with the navicomputer. Martin grasped Anjas arms.

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

Anja lifted her head slowly. "Yes damn it! My head hit your jaw!" She snapped back, with no regard that his jaw had probably saved her from snapping her neck.

Martin grunted in contempt and unceremoniously dumped her off his body and got to his feet. Anjas butt hit the deck with a thud and she let out a gasp.

"All you had to do was ask me to get up!" She nearly yelled, all the while holding her sore head.

Martin grasped the back of the two flight chairs to steady himself and could see nothing but stars out the cockpit window. Both Ben and Tina were engrossed in their consoles and did not notice that he was awake and moving again.

"Report", He spoke.

Bens head snapped around and Martin saw the deep gash over his left eye, though it looked as if the bleeding had stopped. He saw Martins look and waved his hand. "It looks worse than it is." He spoke. "You took the brunt of that slam into the navicomputer. Hows your head?"

Martin nodded, running his hand over the back of his skull, Sore even as hard as my head is. He replied. "What the hell happen?"

Ben pointed out the left window and Martin followed his motion. He could still see the huge asteroid as it moved away from their location. He also caught a glimpse of RAPTOR ONE maintaining station slightly behind them, "That happened". Ben replied pointing to the massive asteroid Crept up on us out of no where. "Our sensors didnt even pick it up. Dont know why yet."

"We didnt pick it up because its composed of hardened gases. Our sensors registered the increase in gases, but since weve never seen anything like that before, they didnt equate it to a threat." Tina spoke from her console.

"Not a threat!" Martin exclaimed. "The damn thing is nearly as big as an aircraft carrier! How is that not a threat?"

"Our instruments are calibrated for solid objects". Tina explained looking at him." Not gases that form huge rocks."

"Is the ship ok? "Martin asked.

"Aside from the large dent and blown board from your stone head, were fine". Ben replied with a grin, even though he winced when he chuckled. He was going to have a massive head ache from knocking his skull on the overhead console." You were only out for about three minutes. If you hadnt been chewing out the Lieutenant Commander and were in your seat, you would have been fine."

Anja struggled to her feet leaning against the damaged console," Very funny". She said, her voice dripping with contempt.

Ben turned on her then, in no mood for games anymore." No its not funny Commander. Now take your tight ass back into the passenger area and next time you want to come into my cockpit, youd better ask fucking permission! You copy that?!"

"Yes sir". Anja replied, wisely keeping her mouth closed and she slowly moved back through the open hatch into the passenger area.

Martin chuckled and looked at Ben, "Nicely done". He said with a smile and patting Ben on the shoulder, "Any injuries in the back?"

"The Master Chief is checking". Tina replied as Martin moved back to his chair.

"Do we have Coms with RAPTOR ONE?"

"Just an initial inquiry as to our condition",Tina replied. "They were higher and to our front so they missed the thing altogether". Tina spoke.

The bald head of the Master Chief came through the hatch just then and his eyes found Martin." Skipper we got a couple of broken arms and some minor scratches, nothing serious. The onboard medics are handling it. I did a quick once over of the hull too, and our integrity seems o"..

Ben nodded, tearing his eyes from one of the screens. "Thats what Im reading too Master Chief. Im having trouble raising EDEN though".

"Chief check the transmitter". Martin ordered, switching on his two screens and seeing the medics moving among the badly shaken passengers.

The Master Chief nodded," Aye Skipper". He spoke before ducking back out of the hatch.

"Admiral Wallace is hailing Marty". Tina spoke up.

Martin reached over and flipped several switches on his panel, and the face of Wallace appeared on the small screen. "RAPTOR TWO SIX actual". He spoke.

"Martin?" Admiral Wallaces voice came through the com system, his face on the screen. "Everyone ok over there? You guys took a nasty tumble".

"Were secure sir. My head put a rather large dent in the navicomputer, and we may have lost our long range transmitter, but we are in one piece thanks to Ben and Tina". Martin answered.

"Any injuries to report," Wallace asked.

Nothing serious Admiral, a few broken bones and some scratches, Martin answered. "Only those people who were not secured in their seats were injured. We never even saw it coming sir. Our instruments didnt pick it up. Martin said.

"Neither did ours. I've spoken with Colonel Wilson on EDEN. They tried to contact us, but apparently the gases interfere with long range communications. They are apparently tracking your asteroids momma with photo drones now. Its going to pass between the earth and the moon in roughly eighty hours". Admiral Wallace told him, "Nothing to be concerned about though according to our people".

"Ill make sure we dont have any ships up at that time sir". Martin told him, looking at the screen.

Wallace nodded, "Very well. Major OConnell, please return to formation for the flight to EDEN".

Ben nodded." Yes sir".

"RAPTOR ONE out".

Martin turned as the screen went black. "I really hate fucking flying". He said.