Miranda (Leisure Planet 2)

Miranda (Leisure Planet 2)
Alice Gaines
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2017 Alice Gaines

Of all people to be stranded on a new planet with, Dr. Miranda Blake had to end up with the only two crewmates in the landing party who'd decided to snipe at each other -- constantly and for no good reason. Ashe Gardner made most of the obviously aggressive remarks, but Ryan O'Malley countered with responses that on the surface might sound conciliatory. In reality, they were subtle digs, which only angered Ashe more. She was going to have to find a way to get them to stop the horseshit and cooperate so they could work together to find a way back to the rest of the crew.

But right now, she was a lot more interested in why the geology of this planet made no sense at all.

"If we'd followed protocol, we wouldn't have gotten separated from the rest of the party," Ashe said. He stared at Ryan the entire time, plainly indicating he knew who'd failed to follow protocol, and it wasn't him.

"I did follow protocol," Ryan answered. "And I'm sure you did, too."

"You're not accusing Dr. Blake of endangering us, I hope," Ashe said.

"Miranda," she corrected. "No need to stand on rank. And no one did anything wrong."

She sat on a downed tree that lay incongruously in the middle of a field. No point standing if you weren't going anywhere. She plucked a blade of grass and twirled it between her thumb and forefinger for lack of anything better to do.

"We must have failed somehow, or we wouldn't have lost the captain and the rest," Ashe said.

"Sometimes things just happen," Miranda said. "And will you two sit down for a minute? You're making me tense."

Ryan sat first, of course, demonstrating that he at least wanted to cooperate. If you could call a man truly beautiful, the word would describe him. His strong jaw set off features that might otherwise seem feminine. Deep green eyes contrasted with the rich auburn of his hair, and his lush mouth whispered possibilities of sin. Right now, his lips were curled in a smile. She'd been staring... again... and he'd noticed.

"Come on, Ashe," she said. "Humor me."

Ashe grumbled, but he finally sat. Now the only two members of the security force were on either side of her, meaning the rest of the crew was unprotected other than their own abilities to defend themselves.

"Let's assess systematically what our situation is," she said.

"Right." Ashe blew out a breath, perhaps calming himself so he could do his damned job. He was also a striking man, although no one would call him beautiful. His nearly black hair came to a widow's peak over piercing blue eyes. High cheekbones made him appear fierce even with his features at rest. Right now, he was still scowling.

"Our weapons work," Ashe said. "Our com-units don't."

"No shelter, and only the few rations we're carrying," Ryan said. "We'll need to find water soon and some protection from the elements."

"Luckily, the elements seem pretty easy to take," Miranda said. In fact, this planet felt and looked like a paradise. The single sun warmed them but not to the point of overheating. The mild breeze held no chill, and after long days and weeks breathing the recycled air in the ship, this seemed like perfume. Almost intoxicating.

"Whatever we do, stay together," Ashe said.

Miranda looped her arms through those of each of the men. "I'm not losing either of you."

That got her a grunt of approval from Ashe and one of Ryan's dazzling smiles. Maybe getting stuck with these two could become tolerable. After all, as members of the security department, they'd each pledged to lay down their lives to protect the crew, if necessary. Nothing seemed threatening here... so far... but who knew what would happen if they couldn't get in touch with the captain or the ship?

"Water first," Ryan said. "Doc, have you seen any geological formations that suggest where we might look?"

"Not a clue. This is all just... "She gestured around them. "... flat. And the one interesting formation I did notice didn't make sense."

"Explain," Ryan said.

"The rock outcropping back the way we came. It had sedimentary material in the middle of igneous strata," she said.

"Care to translate that?" Ryan asked.

"Igneous is volcanic," she said. "Sedimentary is the result of material like sand compressing and turning into rock. They don't belong mixed up together."

Both men simply looked at her.

"Come on. I'll show you." She rose and dusted off the back of her uniform. The action got Ryan looking at her ass. He'd checked her out before but subtly enough that she shouldn't have realized it. Unfortunately, she noticed virtually everything he did. Why did he have to be so damned good-looking?

"Follow me," she said as she started walking back the way they'd come. Both men caught up with her quickly, and soon she was surrounded by some of the nicest male flesh on the crew of the Stargazer...