3 CHAPTER 3: PREPARING TO TAKE OFF

Martin stepped closer to her. "Don't insult my intelligence by feigning ignorance Anja. You are too intelligent for that. We both know who you work for, and why you are coming to EDEN."

"I'm just following orders Martin." Anja spoke sweetly.

"Were you following orders back then too? Your father's orders maybe?" Martin threw the jab at her for some reason which he could not fathom.

Anja's eyes narrowed slightly. "That ... that isn't fair Martin!" She hissed softly at him. "You ... you never told me you were a Genome!"

"Pardon me, but if I remember correctly, and I am a Genome mind you, so my memory is perfect, I don't recall you wanting me to stop what I was doing so you could ask that question." Martin spoke in a low voice. "If I had told you, would it have mattered then?"

Anja met his dark eyes, deep pools of mystery that she had stared into for quite a few hours on that night. "It might have." She finally blurted out, knowing it was a lie.

"So if I had told you I was a Genome you wouldn't have slept with me?" Martin asked, his voice tinged with anger.

Anja's face flushed even under her deep tan, and her eyes narrowed even more. "You should have told me before we ... before..."

"Before we ended up enjoying ourselves too much?" Martin asked in a soft voice so that only she could hear him, but the anger was still there. "Forgive me, but it didn't cross my mind at the time, and you didn't seem to be complaining or be in any rush to have me stop what I was doing. I thought we were having too much fun. I guess I was the only one actually enjoying myself."

Anja regained control of her racing emotions and looked at him. "I have a job to do, Martin. I hope you don't get in my way."

"Get in your way?" Martin chuckled stepping closer to her, so close in fact that Anja could smell his musky mint aroma. She had commented to him that night about what aftershave he wore because it smelled so good, and he had replied that he didn't wear aftershave. "I'm EDEN's Chief of Security Commander. As long as your job doesn't interfere with my duties, we should get along just fine."

"I have orders from..."

"Anja, there you are." The male voice spoke from behind her interrupting what she was going to say.

The young man that had entered the lounge with her stepped up next to her and slipped his arm around her waist possessively. He was extremely handsome and of medium height, and was wearing what looked to be a two thousand dollar suit. His blond hair was neatly cut, his blue eyes dull with too much alcohol and drug use.

Anja forced a smile and pushed his arm from her waist as casually as she could. "Kevin, I'd like you to meet Commander Martin Hunter." She spoke.

Kevin Graham, son of the most anti-genome senator in the country and a well-known junkie, looked at Martin, "Ah ... the Genome." He said.

Martin smiled at him, and had Kevin been more intelligent he would have seen the smile as what it was; a predatory grin from a wild animal about to strike, "Yeah ... the Genome." Martin said.

"Martin, this is Kevin Graham. Senator Graham's son." Anja explained quickly, seeing the look on Martin's face and recognizing it for what it was. Anja however mistook the reason it was there, and for that matter so did Martin.

Martin folded his arms across his chest as Kevin held out his hand. "Yes, I know who he is." Martin spoke maintaining control of his emotions. Seeing Kevin put his arm around Anja had sent a surge of anger through him and he didn't know why. "I didn't realize he was coming on this trip."

"Senator Graham felt it would be a good experience for him. Kevin is campaigning for the 19th district in Virginia." Anja told him.

Martin glanced at the Master Chief who was standing over to the side motioning him over. "That's very nice. I wish you luck. I have work to do, if you'll excuse me." Martin glanced quickly at Anja before turning and heading for where the Master Chief stood.

Anja watched him move through the mass of men and women with confidence and grace. She smiled to herself as she remembered how she had reacted to his body against hers. The heat of his skin and the power of his body, it was almost as if he had some sort of unique aura that caused her to desire him so much. Or was it her own desire for him that made her react the way she did? Even after all this time Anja thought to herself, looking at his broad back, that one night they had spent together caused her to become damp between her thighs. It was going to be a very interesting assignment she thought.

"Arrogant asshole," Kevin muttered drawing her attention, "Typical Genome."

Anja looked at him, her smile fading away. "Don't ever grab me like that again." She growled at him in a low voice.

Kevin looked at her. "Like what? I've grabbed you like that before. In much, more public places. We are engaged, remember!"

"I am not a trophy Kevin!" Anja spat at him, the anger she was feeling very new and very intense. It was almost as if she was angry that Kevin had put his arm around her in front of Martin. "And you will not treat me like one! Is that understood?"

Kevin smiled. "Relax Anja." He told her. "I only wanted to put the Commander in his place. He is a Genome. They are known to be volatile and explosive. I wanted to put him in his place right away, so you don't feel threatened."

Anja shook her head and smiled a sad smile. "Believe me, the last thing Martin Hunter feels threatened by is you." Anja was beginning to regret saying yes to Kevin when he asked her to marry him six months ago. She had done so to advance her career and to make her father happy. He was worried she would be led astray by events that were happening in the military, and felt marrying Kevin Graham would solidify her position within the Senator's entourage, and give her a leg up when she left the Navy. Anja hated having Kevin paw her body at odd times to prove his manhood to others, and having sex with him was revolting to her, even when she was drunk.

Kevin took her hand. "C'mon, my father is expecting an initial report of contact with Hunter."

Anja let him lead her back through the mass of people, quietly thinking how Kevin would surely get his ass handed to him if he tried to pull the same stunts with the Genome soldiers as he had with everyone else he knew. It brought a smile to her face picturing Martin hanging him

over a railing somewhere putting his arrogant ass in its place.

Martin and the Master Chief stood to one side of the line that was formed to walk through the three metal detectors. Each of the Raptor Jump ships could hold two hundred and fifty people in the part of the cargo hold that had been configured for airline seating, and these were the last groups of technicians and scientists that would be joining EDEN's eight thousand-member crew. Martin turned when he heard his name called. He watched as Admiral William H. Wallace III walked up to him with another man who Martin recognized right away.

Senator Richard Graham was one of the most senior Senators within the US government. He was Chairmen of several committees, including the Intelligence Oversight Committee. He was also the most vocal anti-Genome man in the government, and made sure everyone knew that. He was a man of medium height with gray just touching his brown hair. He wore what appeared to be a three thousand dollar suit, just like his son, and was impeccably groomed. The Admiral was holding his arm as they came up to where he and the Master Chief stood.

Admiral Wallace was a man that Martin would follow to hell and back. He was a true leader of men who had worked his way up in the ranks because of what he had accomplished in his career, and not because of some political connections. He was a tall muscular man, with just a touch of white hair on his mostly bald head. A man in excellent physical condition, who had lobbied hard to get SEAL Team Twelve this post on EDEN. Martin didn't know why, and never really bothered enough to ask, but Wallace had always been there to look out for him and his team over the years, earning him Martin's trust and respect. There was something about the Admiral that made him feel relaxed and comfortable whenever he was in his presence.

"Martin..." He spoke stopping in front of him. "I told Senator Graham I would introduce you before we boarded. Senator, this is Commander Martin Hunter, EDEN's Chief of Security."

Richard Graham hesitated before extending his hand to shake Martin's outstretched one. He looked at him quickly. "So you are the Genome Commander?" He asked wiping his hand on his pants after shaking Martin's hand. This did not go unnoticed by Wallace or Martin.

Martin couldn't help but grin as he saw Anja approach from behind the Senator with his son. He nodded. "Yes sir." He replied, "Sequence One; Batch Number nine eight three four one."

Richard Graham looked slightly surprised. "You remember your batch number?" He asked, clearly taken aback.

Martin nodded. "Yes, sir; It's kind of hard to forget, when it's tattooed to the inside of your thigh." He replied.

Anja's eyes narrowed slightly at hearing this. She did not remember any number tattoo on the inside of Martin's thigh, and she had willingly and quite happily spent enough time between his legs to notice. Of the sexual partners she had over the years, Martin was the only man Anja had willingly sucked off, and she had done it on more than one occasion that night as she remembered, each time with delightful gusto.

Martin was the only one who noticed her reaction and he inwardly grinned to himself, knowing what must be racing through her head.

"So you believe you have the security of EDEN well in hand, Commander?" Graham asked.

Martin nodded. "Yes, sir, EDEN is the most secure facility the United States has right now. And not just because she is several million miles away. We have state of the art systems installed and my men, as well as the rest of EDEN's security force, are intimately familiar with all of them."

Graham nodded, as if he wasn't in the least bit interested, "Very well." He said.

Admiral Wallace realized that the conversation wasn't going to proceed anymore and motioned with his hand. "Senator, if you'll follow me, the loading ramp to our jump ship is further down the terminal."

Graham nodded and turned to walk with the Admiral. Martin looked at Anja and Kevin as they came up to him. Kevin had a smug look on his face.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"We are ready to board." Anja said.

Martin glanced at the Master Chief quickly before looking back to her. "I believe the line for boarding is back there." He spoke.

"We have special clearance Commander." Anja said. "You know that."

Martin shook his head. "No one has special clearance unless I give it. Everyone has to pass through the detectors before they board. All this information was in the packets that were handed out, along with your security passes." He looked at her, and then at Kevin, "Which I don't see, by the way."

"What security passes?" Anja asked.

"They were in the packets given to you when you entered the terminal as I told you." Martin explained. "Without those security passes you will not be allowed to board."

"I gave ... I gave them to my assistant." Kevin stuttered.

"Then I would suggest you find your assistant and get them back." Martin spoke. He could barely hold back the grin as Kevin turned and started down the long line of men and women looking for his assistant. He turned back to Anja who had taken a step closer to him.

"Playing games Martin?" She asked, her voice cold.

Martin shook his head. "Me? Play games? I wouldn't think of it. You have just forgotten how to follow instructions." He told her.

"I was promised your full corporation!" Anja hissed at him. "Are you going to let what happen between us begin interfering with how you follow orders?"

Martin's smile faded and he glared at her. "What happened between us Lieutenant Commander Peterson is ancient history; you saw to that!" He told her. "I have long put it behind me. What you need to do, is realize that we operate like any other military facility, and we have rules that need to be followed. If you can't handle that, I suggest you let the good Senator know, and we can find someone to take your place. The next scheduled trip back to earth is in four months!"

Anja bit back her sharp reply, knowing that to argue with him now would do no good. She took a deep breath and forced a smile to return to her face.

"Will that be all, sir?" She asked sweetly.

"That's all. Dismissed."

Anja spun around smartly and followed Kevin to find their security passes. Martin turned as the Master Chief came up next to him.

"Is it smart to piss her off Skipper?" He asked. "She does have the Senator's ear."

"What's Admiral Wallace's rule for facing the enemy Tony?" He asked.

The Master Chief smiled. "Keep them guessing."

Martin nodded. "Keep them guessing. Moreover, that's what I intend to do with the good Commander Peterson. Keep her guessing."

"She's got smarts as well as beauty Skipper." The Master Chief said. "She'll catch on real quick."

Martin nodded. "Maybe, however, by then we'll be on EDEN, and there won't be a thing she can do about it. The Senator is only staying for a few weeks. She's assigned for the full year."

The Master Chief grinned. "You didn't?" He asked.

Martin nodded with a smile. "It pays to have friends in low places Chief. You know that. I had MILPERSEN permanently assign her as an attachment to SEAL Team 12. She'll be with us a while."

The Master Chief broke out in a booming laugh. He shook his head. "Now I know why I don't play poker with you skipper. You are devious."

Martin nodded, "Only when I'm in battle Master Chief. Only when I'm in battle."

They both were laughing as they turned back to watch the procession of people into the waiting Raptor Jump ships