Read Vall's Will for Free Online

her uniform and hurry up to the bridge.
    “Morning,
Granth. Where are our guests this morning?” she greeted the communications
officer first thing. She spotted Plymon sitting at his station a few meters
away. The Sub-captain kept his face averted from her, even though she knew he’d
heard her enter.
    “Morning,
Captain. The Anglites remain in their cabin. Gayt says they’re eating, resting,
and recuperating. The Vall―”
    “Let’s just
call him Vall, until we discover his real name,” she corrected.
    Granth nodded.
“Vall is currently in cleansing chamber number two. Killjorn is with
him.”
    “Good.
Thank you. Please let the good doctor know that he hasn’t eaten
breakfast.”
    “Will do,
Captain.”
    Striding over to
her Sub-captain, she tapped the man on the shoulder. “My inner office.
Now.”
    She knew the
rest of the bridge members were watching and listening. She knew they all were
aware of where she’d spent the night, and with whom. Crew gossip she couldn’t
control, and had no desire to. But Plymon’s attitude this morning needed a
serious adjustment.
    The door had
barely closed behind them when she turned and faced the man directly.
    “Who do you
think you are to address me in that tone of voice this morning,
Sub-captain?”
    “He’s an
unknown entity. And for some reason I can’t fathom, you’re not yourself when
you’re around him.” Plymon’s face began to redden as he let his anger
flare.
    “He’s
completely harmless.”
    “We don’t
know that. Or have you forgotten what Gayt said? What we see is a shell. A
sham. The real person, if he is a person, is hidden away inside.”
    “He hasn’t flipped
any switches in me,” Will argued. “Has he in you?” If there had
been even the slightest chance the man could be a danger, her own instincts
would have reacted long before now, and erected her shield every time she came
in contact with him.
    Plymon reluctantly
shook his head. “No, he hasn’t.”
    “So, why,
by all that is holy, are you so angry? You acted like you were mad at me. I was
unable to sleep, so I went to get something to drink. I found him near the
dining bay, and we both got water. I took him to the observation deck, hoping
the scenery would help me relax so I could rest. I had no idea I would spend
the night there…with him.” Will gave a disgusted cry and threw her hands
up. “Why in the fekk am I telling you any of this in the first
place?”
    She turned and
strode over to the wall on the opposite side of the room. She was an impulse
away from physically reacting, and needed to put space between them before she
did. Whirling around, she noticed he was standing in his usual feet-spread,
arms-over-chest stance he took whenever he was at odds with her.
    “I don’t
have to ask your permission for anything I do, Plymon. And I certainly don’t
have to explain any more of my actions to you!”
    He gave her a
pained expression. “By all the stars, Will! Can’t you at least call me by
my given name when we’re alone? It’s Braill, in case you don’t remember.”
    She lowered her
voice and her eyebrows at him. “And I told you this was never to become
personal, Sub-captain Plymon.”
    They stared at
each other in silent anger, until Plymon finally spoke. “You’ve changed,
Willis,” he almost growled. “I said it earlier, and I’ll say it
again. You’re not yourself when you’re around him.”
    Will refused to
back down. She was the captain. And although Plymon had every right to question
her decisions, he didn’t have the authority to turn any of them into a personal
issue. From what he had said up until now, it was blatantly clear to her that
he was trying to make Vall a personal problem, especially between them.
    “If I don’t
protect you, who will?” he added.
    Suddenly, it was
as if a sun went supernova. Will blinked at the realization. “Good
heavens! Plymon, you’re jealous?”
    By the widening
of his eyes, she knew she’d hit upon the