Chapter 2: Rescue Missions tend to be loud.

Gate 3

11:00. A.m.

Connie Maheswaran takes a deep breath as she waits, seated on one of the few chairs of the transporter. Her sword, sheathed in sturdy leather, rested on her thighs. She wears a skin-tight bodysuit that covers her whole body up to her neck. It wasn't her first time using it, but she wasn't completely used to the sensation that the suit gave to her. She feels naked every time she wears it. Of course, the young Indian American girl couldn't deny the efficiency that it brought to missions. The S.I.S.O. (Suit of Infiltration and Stealth Operations) is the top choice for every member of the V.O. that was deployed on an undercover mission.

Now, Connie didn't have any friends in the equipment department... but she sure was going to file a suggestion for the S.I.S.O. not to be so...revealing.

"Mmmh, I still don't get used to this suit. Couldn't I better use the light armor? I think I could work better with it." She touches his neck.

"Our priority is to extract the target; stealth is key for the operation to succeed. The S.I.S.O. will help us to avoid any enemy detection and proceed with secrecy." Her mother reviews her medkit once again. Connie knew it was a simple ritual that she used to do before any mission. But this time, she wasn't completely focused. Her eyes wandered around the small metallic box, as if she was doing a mental countdown of the items, but her left fingers continuously tapped against the chair. She was wearing her own S.I.S.O., equipped with a special belt to guard medicine with it.

'Is she...nervous?' She thought. Impossible. Her mother would never be in such a state; her seriousness during work hours is a staple of her personality.

"Are you okay, Mom?... You look distracted." She sits down near her mother, putting a hand on her near thigh as she opens her eyes wide open and turns her head to her.

"Uh? Why yes, sweetie, I'm great! It's just that... Well, it's been a while since I was on field"

"If you don't feel well, we could always ask any of the personnel to accompany us. You don't have to worry; I know that Captain Freeman will understand."

"Thanks, but really, don't worry about that, Connie." She bops her nose. Connie's worries grew; her mother never does that! Calling her by her first name during a mission, touching her nose so casually. "Why don't you continue meditating? As soon as Ranger Doe gets here, we'll leave."

Connie slowly nods and rests her back against the chair. She was probably imagining things. It's been a while since she had to work again with her mother, since Connie had decided to branch off from the science department to work for a while as a security officer. She holds her sword tighter. What could have been clouding her mother's mind that she was nervous?

"Morning, ladies." The voice of a young man interrupted Connie. Ranger John Doe enters the room, climbing up the ladder of the trapdoor, carrying a backpack. He wears an S.I.S.O. too, with a large white trench coat.

As soon as Ranger Doe entered the ship, Connie felt how the whole atmosphere changed instantly, and Priyanka suddenly stood up, which caught the young man's attention. The young woman looked at how their glances met, and a duel took place between them. It was only for a brief moment, but enough for Connie to be weirded out.

"Do you know each other?" She asks them.

"We-" Doe started, but was quickly interrupted by Connie's Mom.

"I helped Mister Doe with a medical examination when he arrived at the Pandora. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten the chance to meet him more deeply," Priyanka said. "I hope this mission gives us the chance"

She responded with a smile. A smile that weirded Connie out more. What was happening here?!

"Yes... Let this be the chance to better meet each other." he says and puts his backpack on one of the chairs. Connie could see the long barrel of a rifle sticking up from the top of the bag (a sniper, maybe?). He claps his hands. "Well! I suppose you will be my backup, Miss Mahenswaram."

"Just call me Connie, mister! It's a pleasure!" She took a good look at him and extended her hand to him. He looked like a handsome man, way taller than her, probably 1.9 meters tall. His body looks strong, not muscular, but he clearly worked out a lot. He had thin eyebrows and a normal nose; his green eyes really caught her attention. "Please, take care of us!"

Connie was very excited to work with a ranger. When she was chosen a few hours back, the surprise was such that she almost choked with her breakfast. She quickly went to her room and prepared herself and even brought her electric broadsword with her. She brought her special sheath, a gorgeous black leather sheath that was a gift from his father for her eighteenth birthday. And now, she had the opportunity to use it on a mission, and with a ranger nonetheless! She remembers wanting to be one of them when she was little, but ended up following a more plausible career on the voyagers, following her mother's steps.

"The pleasure is mine, and don't worry, I will." The man brought a smile that brought comfort to Connie. He shakes her hand and then walks towards the main cabin. "I'll put on the autopilot so we can discuss the plan, sounds good?"

"Yes!" Connie says, as her eyes go back to her mother. She walks towards the main table to continue her ritual with the medkit. She seems more calm, but her gaze was fixated on the ranger's back. There was something between them that she couldn't understand. Of course, she was worried about her mother, but what problem could she have with the young man?.

The girl sighs and sits down on the other side of the table. She hears the soft bipping that echoes in the room, signaling them to fasten their seatbelts for departure. Connie uses the belts on the chair and closes her eyes. Hopefully, she was imagining things.

Cell of an abandoned factory.

12:47 Pm

"So, are you finally going to cooperate?" The Orion pirate asks, staring directly at the woman inside the cell.

Reagan Ridley took a sip directly from the bottle; the cell didn't feel as uncomfortable now that the pirates had acceded to her small demands. Of course, she couldn't expect much from a group of green aliens that almost killed her, but hey, at least they bought her wine and some more decent food.

"Mmmh, this feels cheap. Did you buy it in an intergalactic 7/11 on your way back?" The brunette says as she leaves the bottle on her table, next to a group of tools and different pieces from what appears to be a metallic chest piece for an armor.

One of the guards tries to scare her by stepping menacingly towards the cell with a grunt, but the attempt was so pathetic that Reagan had to suppress her laugh to avoid actually enraging them.

"Calm down, I'll get to work on your devices instantly." She raises her arms and walks towards the small desk. "Say, what do you want to use these things for again?"

"I told you, for camouflage!" Shouted the Orion that identified himself as the leader. They wore heavy armor, which would make any attempt at fighting them difficult. "And yes, we mean thermal, optical, and even biological!"

"Yeesh, are you guys Orions or Klingons? Because you are in a horrible mood today." She laughs as she takes one of the few tools that they brought to her so she could work on those camo devices. "At least Klingons would have left me alone instead of trying to be more agressive"

"Captain, is it really necessary to keep up with this woman's bullshit?" The other guard, who wore a heavy protection helmet, asked the captain. "Why not keep with the original plan of asking for ransom?"

"We are going to do it, but better keep her occupied with something as we relocate ourselves. Also, I'm not going to waste one of the V.O's more prolific minds just having her eat and drink our supplies away."

"Never thought that one of the Voyager's more important minds would fall so easily for a trap... and even be a drunkard!"

"Agh Fuck off! Better to be a drunkard than to be in a group of wannabe pirates. What even is your band's name? Pirates of Magic Mike?" Reagan replied, laughing.

"We don't understand your references, woman! " The leader pulsed one of the several buttons that his glove had.

Fuck.

The collar shocks and throws Reagan to the cold floor of the cell. The electricity made her squeal in pain. Being a brilliant scientist, she was used to getting tased by electronics, but as a **** method, it was a whole other thing. She clenches her fist in anger as the pirates stare at her in silence.

"Better have some of them ready for this afternoon," says the leader as he turns and exits the room, leaving the helmet wearing Orion as the guard of her cell.

Reagan leans on the chair to stand up, going back to work on those devices. Hopefully, help could come sooner for her, because if she had to keep enduring the bullshit that these pirates had her do... She'll probably start asking for more wine!

1:05Pm.

Transporter Class Duma #23 of the Pandora.

Above the third moon of planet Golta-91.

The black-haired doctor observed the station located on the rocky terrain of the moon. It wasn't a large complex; according to the record, ten years ago it was a research station for studying the atmosphere of the planet Golta-91 but was abandoned after a lack of funds. It was set to be dismantled, yet since the area was overtaken by pirates, it was completely forbidden. According to the info given by the ranger, now is the base for a small group of Orion pirates that held Reagan Ridley captive. She had dealt with pirates before; voyagers were no strangers to fighting them, so she knew what to expect from them: fiery tactics, illegal armament, contraband, and enough stuff to have an instant reason for their arrest.

Yet, as she tried her best to focus on the mission, she couldn't help but feel distracted due to the presence of the ranger. The man was completely unfazed by her, while she was completely nervous. How were they in this same mission?! She didn't know who had chosen the members of this mission, but Priyanka was sure that he had something to do with it. Maybe he wanted to talk alone with her? She had mostly avoided him, because she didn't know how to deal with the young man, but she didn't expect that their paths would mix so soon. And now, Priyanka is alone in a room with John... Call it karma, if you like.

Speaking of which...

She turned her head back to him, who was in front of a hologram-table that they installed there to plan their course of action. They were in the cargo room, which composed most of the ship's constitution. Y/N had asked Connie to scan the area with the integrated scanner on the ship as he thought of a plan. Priyanka had accompanied her daughter for a while, supervising her, and now has returned to check how John's planning was going. She was sure that he was already preparing something, but he appeared to just be thinking. She didn't want to be alone with him, and as grateful as she was for their sexual encounter, Priyanka felt shaky because he tried to befriend her more. Did she miscommunicate something? She thought she had lay down pretty clear that she wanted a one-night stand. Not that Priyanka didn't like the guy. He was charming; nonetheless, she couldn't think of being in a relationship with him. What kind of example would that be for Connie?! What could it mean for her reputation? No, the optics were too dangerous for it to consider.

Or, was there something more?... Priyanka couldn't grasp it right now. The mission is first. She clears her throat to grab his attention.

"My daughter is doing the scanning, and we activated the camouflage so their sensors don't catch us."

"Well done. Any anomalies for now?" John says, crossing his arms.

"Not really. We haven't located Miss Reagan yet."

"Fine. We should wait until the scan is completed." He declares as she nods, and an awkward silence fills the room instantly, in which none of them know what to say. It was unpleasant, to say the least. But she didn't have much else to do. Her medkit was complete, and the weapon that she had retrieved from the armory for this mission (a laser handgun set on stun mode) rested in its sheath. Priyanka tries to practice her aim at least once a week; she wouldn't dare to lose such a habit, as a voyager, one's skill should be sharp at any time.

"So..." He cracked his fingers and stared at the ceiling as he scratched his left cheek. "Why haven't you-"

"No." Priyanka says bluntly, turning around to face a wall. She was going to leave the room, but she feels him grabbing her arm.

"Sorry, but we need to get this out of the way if we are going to work together." John says.

"Are you- My daughter is in here too! We cannot discuss our 'thing' right now." She turns and crosses her arms over her breasts. Her voice trying to be as quiet as possible, afraid that Connie might hear them. That simple touch of him reminds her of that moment in which he took her and made her feel like a woman once again. She frowns, trying her best to kick those thoughts away.

"Well, I wouldn't bring this here if you weren't so cold with me. Come on. You just avoided me completely." Priyanka opens her mouth, but he continues before she could reply, lifting one finger to stop her. "And before you say something, no, I didn't choose the members of this job, so if you think that I brought you here and your daughter as some strange scheme, I didn't."

Priyanka raises an eyebrow, confused. Well, at least that was out of the way; maybe it was a random choice from the captain. Priyanka looks down. He was right. They should clear things up.

"It is good to know it." She sighs and sits down, offering him a place by her side, which John accepts. "Sorry, I think that I miscommunicated what I wanted from our relationship."

"What do you mean?"

The Indian milf sighs; she presses her fingers against her temples.

"When I approached you a while ago and proposed to you an...intimate encounter, I meant it to be a..." She rubs her hands together as she sees him with eyes full of uncertainty. "A one-night stand"

"A one-night stand, you say?" John repeats her words slowly. His green eyes appear undisturbed.

"I'm sorry; I clearly didn't state my desires. It's been a while since I had any action, and I thought, why not give it a try? And since you accepted when I seduced you..." She remembers the scene clearly: the doctor pinning him to a wall, rubbing her breasts against his manly chest, and teasing him with her voice. How could he say no to that? She had made the first move; it was also her first time doing it, so when he accepted, she gave herself to their lust, which now had brought them to this situation. Priyanka grabs her left arm, slowly rubbing it. "And when you started to message me... I was ashamed and didn't know what to do."

"So that's why you avoided me." He rests his head on the chair. Priyanka felt bad. There wasn't another way to put it. The kid probably was a virgin, still naive to the ruthless nature of the relationships in adulthood. And directly fall into Priyanka's wishes, only for her to play with him, and then avoid him...

"Yes... I'm sorry." Priya lets out a soft chuckle. "Ha, look at me, doing such a childish thing at this age. I really don't know what happened to me."

"Excuse me if I sound blunt. But maybe you were afraid?" John boldly says. Priyanka opens her eyes wide open. She just sighed. They had already started; there's no harm in continuing. It is the least she could do, open herself a bit for him.

"I guess? I mean, when I made my proposition to you, I wanted to do something different. It had been a long time since I got..." She looked around and quietly continued, not forgetting the small chance that Connie could hear them. "Laid, and you started to send me messages, asking me when we would meet up again; maybe I got scared to connect once more with someone else. I ended my last relationship a long time ago and wanted to feel that passion once again."

"And I did... John, you were more than wonderful. Your passion, the display of manliness that you show to me, made me feel a sensation that I haven't felt in a long time." She puts a hand on her own cleavage, touching her chest. A soft smile appears on her lips as she remembers the blazing night that John and she lived together. But it fades away slowly. "Yet, when you try to approach me again, I avoid you. I imagine you resent me for it, and I clearly understand why. I shouldn't have done that."

The ranger maintained a silence, which only made Priyanka finish her apology.

"I'm really, really sorry. I should have treated you better. If there's something that I could do..."

"Is everything okay?"

Connie entered the room, making Priyanka stop. Before she could utter a word, Y/N stepped in.

"So, have you concluded the scanning?" While his posture and voice remained the same, Priyanka could only think how confused he must have been. The poor guy...

"Yes." she nods. "It appears that it's a small group, twenty Orion criminals. They seem to use an analog circuit of security, so I couldn't breach it, but I detected Miss Reagan's location. She's in a cell in the basement of the building."

John turns on the table, which quickly displays a small hologram of the building. With two floors and a basement, it doesn't seem very guarded, but without a way to check the interior, any move could be risky for them. He scratches his chin and clicks his tongue in annoyance.

"We could infiltrate through this back door." Connie points at a door on the back of the building. "It's a short path"

"It seems heavily guarded." Priyanka notices the hologram shows the live reading of at least seven pirates, who stand on the way between the back door and the basement, in which Reagan is located. "I don't think we could walk in without raising suspicion. And we also had to go back with Miss Reagan."

"Speaking of which... I have a question." John says, making both mom and daughter turn their eyes from the hologram map towards the young ranger.

"What is it?"

"How does this thing work?" He says, pulling the neck of the S.I.S.O. suit.

Priyanka felt his jaw drop, and with the corner of her eye, she could see her daughter's also looking impressed at the man. She was going to intervene, but Connie beat her to it, her voice almost shouting.

"You... You don't know how to use it?!" She grabs her head, her eyes wide and leaning towards the ranger.

"Umm, no, I was simply given one by the armory since it was listed on my mission's equipment," John says, backing off as Connie's direct gaze traps him against the wall. "Hey, I'm not a voyager like you girls!"

"I thought rangers had access to this kind of technology." Connie says. The light in her eyes brought by the ranger's presence started to diminish.

"Yeah, we do, but I'm only a one-star ranger. This tech is light-years away from my paycheck and access"

"Oh..."

"It isn't hard." Priyanka intervenes; while she had been a medical operative for most of her career, she had experience with this kind of operation, so the usage of the S.I.S.O. wasn't unfamiliar to her. Also, the suit was built to be intuitive and easy to use. She approaches him and grabs both of his wrists. The milf raises his right hand and points at a small screen that the suit has. "This right here helps to set the modes of the suit. I could explain most of them, but right now only the optical camo is what we need to hide us from the enemy's view."

"Still, even if we easily avoid them, that still leaves Miss Reagan without a way to hide herself." Y/N says, moving his head to the side to hide the blush on his face for having Priyanka so near him.

"Tsk, that's true. We weren't given one for Miss Reagan. Maybe one of us can stay and give the S.I.S.O to her. " Connie says, more calmed. "But... I don't have any spare clothes..."

"Neither do I." Priyanka says.

"That leaves us with a last option: Be loud and drag them to another point of their base so we could enter and free Miss Reagan. " John declares, which makes the three of them return to the hologram of the pirate's base.

"So, do you suggest a diversion?" Connie says as the ranger nods.

"It could work so we could retrieve Reagan easier. Yet, the problem relies on the way we are going to make them move. Maybe if we disable the ship's camouflage..." Priyanka says as she leans on the table's hologram. Her mind was racing, searching for a solution. Why weren't they given more things for this mission? Reagan Ridley was supposed to be one of the most important assets on the travel? And the info didn't indicate to them that they should seek a diplomatic approach with the captors.

"Negative, the less they know about what we have, the more advantage we have over them. And even if it works, I don't think it would be enough to scare them away." John says. His sudden change into a more professional personality had surprised Priya. "Pirates usually get scared only by a bigger ship than theirs. And a Class Duma transporter isn't nearly enough to make them flee in terror. "

"Perhaps we can bait them into going to check their ship by activating its alarm remotely."

"It won't be enough to move most of them to the garage location. John says. "Maybe that moves one or two off our way, but it still wouldn't be enough to clear the way. And if one of them sees us, they'll ring out the alarms.

"So, where did that leave us? A confrontation? ... We aren't armed for that." Priyanka says.

The room entered a deep silence, as each of them started to think in different ways to face the problem. Of course, if they are fast enough, they could deal with the pirates in Reagan's way and free her. But still they could get cornered in the basement, in which they would be trapped. Calling for backup was an option, but it could bring more attention, and they didn't know if these pirates could also call for backup. Priyanka had to think of something. Even if John was the head of the mission and a ranger, she still was the most experienced out of the three of them. She must find a way to deal with her, or maybe Connie could-

"It isn't a problem at all." John declares, standing up. "I'll be the diversion."

Once again, their gazes move directly to the ranger, who grabs his bag and starts to dig in it. Priyanka sees how Connie covers her mouth, surprised by the ranger's decision.

"You can't be serious." Priyanka stands behind him, surprised and trying her best to control the tone of her voice. "There are far too many of them for you to face them."

"I would prefer to be better trained with the S.I.S.O. before using it, and we also need a diversion, so I'll handle them while you rescue the scientist. Also, this thing adjusts for any body, right?" He asks.

"That's...true"

"Then I'll just take it off and use a normal spacesuit to enter the facility, and you give this to Miss Reagan. She's a Voyager like you, so she may know how to use it. And you can sneak off with it while I distract them. As soon as I finish with them, I'll go back to the ship."

"There are twenty of them! Is not an optimal solution!" Priyanka says, not wanting to see this man endanger himself. Was it a result of her words to him? He probably wasn't in the right mood to make such a drastic decision. "Also, this isn't a combat mission; we shouldn't-"

"This is my operation, Miss Mahenswaram. And I prefer to put myself in danger than to risk your lives." He stands up and takes off his jacket, putting it on the chair beside him. "I'll go and change out my suit. I have some spare clothes in my backpack. And don't worry about the combat. They are still criminals; I have a license to deal with them without a warrant."

So those rumors are true. Priyanka didn't know much about the mysterious license that the rangers had access to, which also played a part in their reputation. She didn't know much of the details on how it works, but the only mention of it meant that Y/N was completely serious with his plan. Not that they couldn't fight them—that's why they were armed—but the Voyagers could only act in self-defense. In theory, rangers acted the same, but she doesn't know the key differences that separate them. It wasn't something she was interested in.

"My mom is right; you shouldn't be this reckless! We'll find a safer solution! Maybe we can speak with them," Connie says. Priya feels proud that she cared for a crewmate even without knowing him before.

"We can't also let them use Reagan as a hostage. That's why you'll sneak back while I confront them. We'll take any upper hand that they could have. I'll also take care of their analog system, so the path gets clearer." John starts walking towards the bathroom, zipping down his suit.

"Still, it is too dangerous! We don't even know what kind of equipment they possess." Priyanka grabs his hand as he grabs his backpack. "Let us-"

"Ladies." He stops. There was a sudden and subtle shift in his behavior, as if he had changed clothes instantly, but he looked more serious and professional. Priyanka sees him differently. Where she had seen a young, not-so-innocent and naive adult, she now sees a focused man, with a clear goal on his mind. The change is impressive, and it reminded her of the moment of passion that they lived together, in which he had displayed a magnificent show of masculinity as he dominated her. "I know very well that I'm an outsider, and the voyagers do things differently than rangers do. So I'll kindly ask for you to trust me with this one. As head of the mission, I believe this is the best way to go."

Priyanka is mute.

"Fine"

"Wha-mom!" Of course Connie would be surprised. In normal circumstances, Priyanka would never accede to such a reckless idea. But John wasn't a normal guy, she was sure. No one with the title of 'ranger,' no matter their rank, could be classified as average. For the sake of the mission, they will take advantage of it.

"Ranger Doe is right, Connie. If he says he has a plan, we must trust him." She sees how he nods, thanking her. Her eyes were those of someone who possesses a heavy worry. Priyanka couldn't understand why she found herself with such preoccupation. Was it the weight of her actions towards him? Was he worried about him? Her heart pounded softly as it warmed her chest.'Why am I feeling like this? I just don't want to see him hurt. I'm a doctor, that's common.'

Connie just lowered her head. Priyanka felt bad for not being sincere with her, but they couldn't let it linger any longer. They had to act now if they wanted to save Reagan from the hands of the Orion pirates.

"Just be careful." Connie says, looking at the ranger. Somehow, it feels that her admiration for him was growing once more after the previous surprise.

"Don't worry about it, girls." John says with a smile on his face, walking towards the small changing room, he stretches his right arm and gives them the thumbs up."I'm going to give you a nice demonstration of what a ranger is capable of."

Once again, her chest felt warm. Priyanka couldn't quite explain it. But in that moment, she truly believed him and quietly wished him the best on whatever crazy plan he had in mind.

My goal is to update every Monday. The next chapter will be very action packed! So be ready. And don't worry, the smut will be on its way.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Don't forget to comment, and I'll see you in the next one!