That smells delightful!”“Thanks, but you were meant to wait in bed for it.”“Oh, I'm sorry… Sir. How naughty of me,” Nicola finished with a... giggle.I turned with the spatula in my hand. Nicola did not step back, just loosened her grip so I could turn. I put my arms around the beautiful woman before me. Nicola looked up at me and I lowered my face to kiss her succulent lips. As I did so, I tightened my grip around her waist, which elicited a soft moan of approval from her. And then I struck. My. They had stopped in a shallow vale. Due to a blockage of drift wood and leaves the creek had formed a little pond around which had grown dense vegetation. She was as familiar with this place as she was with the rest of the earldom of Brumen. She roamed the land since her father, who had been a huntsman for the earl, had taken her for the first time on a trip shortly after her mother died. Back then she had been twelve years old. Her knowledge of the countryside had come to good use in the two. It was still there, thank God!The key slid in easily, the locked door opened, and I felt inside for my pistol. A minute later the 9 mm my wife didn’t know about was loaded. I had bought it only two days before my torment began, not mentioning it to my wife who I knew would be opposed. I’d only need four shells in the magazine if everything worked out the way I planned. I racked the slide as slowly and quietly as I could and slid the safety off. I knew my arms had atrophied over the last. When their defeat became imminent, they chose to use the self-destruct mechanism built into their ships. This was an option of last resort, designed to prevent enemies from gaining access to their technology.What they failed to take into account was their fleet’s proximity to their main vessel. When the self-destruct mechanism was universally activated the protective shields were immediately disengaged. This left the mother ship vulnerable. When the smaller ships began to explode, their bursts.