Viking Love Beyond Time (Time Travel Romance) Read Free

responsible for computer maintenance and the cargo’s safety and therefore, in the eyes of Vice President Loxley, the most important person on the ship.
                  “The exchange went very smoothly Captain, the klerth crystals are evenly spread around the hold” he informed her in his odd, almost stuttering tones.
                  Alodie smiled at him. “I’m sure you did your job properly Adair, you always do” Adair smiled back.  His mouth was twice as wide as a human’s and the smile almost met round the back of his head, a Medullan smile took a lot of getting used to.
                  Medulla was the closest inhabited planet to Earth, in the Proxima Centauri system, a few hours away in hyper, and therefore the first alien civilisation encountered by Earth back in the twenty second century.
                  Adair lifted a green finger and, placing it under Austen’s chin, raised her face “Are you not feeling well Captain?” She smiled, wanly, it was no use trying to lie to a Medullan, they could see through lead if they used their third eye, so a human’s innermost feelings were child’s play.
                  “I’ve felt better” she replied quietly.
                  “Do you think you need a green tablet Alodie?” he continued.  Alodie nodded, feeling suddenly embarrassed,  and turned away, only to come face to face with Owen.  His eyes swept her from top to toe in a way which made her feel stark naked.
                  “Gotta headache ma’am” he drawled “You should relax more, unwind”
                  Austen stiffened, then took a deep breath.  “Carry on” she snapped, ignoring him, and turning, she stalked angrily through the swing doors and down a short corridor to the galley.
                  Walking over to the replicator terminal she punched a couple of buttons for ‘dish of the day’.  A quite appetising cheese salad appeared in the hatch and taking it she placed it on the table.  Absent mindedly picking up a piece of celery she popped it in her mouth and began to chew.  How the hell had she come to this pass?  How had the company’s most promising young ensign become a space weary veteran at the age of twenty three?
                  Born in Yorkshire in what used to be called England she was the daughter of Jake Austen and Nerissa Varhend, a native of the hundred year old terraformed colony on Venus.  Jake and Nerissa had been deeply in love and young Alodie had spent the first seven years of her life in an aura of security, love and happiness until her mother’s untimely death in a hover car accident.  Distraught with grief, Jake had then dedicated his life to his little daughter and proceeded to bring her up the only way he knew how, as a son.
                  Jake was a senior star ship engineer and, recognising his daughter’s amazing intelligence, proceeded to teach her the rudiments of his craft.  By the time she was ten Alodie was enrolled, two years before the normal intake age, at E & MTC’s engineering school.  She passed top of her class at thirteen and then, with two years to kill before she was legally allowed ‘off Earth’ she began to study, and gain a degree in, navigation.  
                  Her first trip had been as navigation cadet on the star liner ‘Cloudburst’ where she had first run into Bradey and Owen.  Austen smiled, now there had been a ship, every component top notch, able to hit hyper 9.9.  She had made three trips in the ‘Cloudburst’ and became fascinated with computers.  She decided to study for yet a further degree, in science, and was promoted to junior science officer.
                  It was during that time she met Adair who pointed out to her that, bar her pilot’s ticket, she was the best qualified member of the crew, having degrees in engineering, navigation and