I pulled her to me, but then pushed her off.
“No,” I said, under the loud noise of the street. “I’m a Navy officer, you’re my Captain, I can’t…”
She smiled and said:
“Ok.”
And she turned away. But I couldn’t let her go. I grabbed her arm before she got lost in the crowd, and pulled her to me and kissed her passionately.
And didn’t let go.
Ever.
INTERLUDE A – TOURISTS
The airship was cruising smoothly over the breathtaking landscapes of Webbur’s southern hemisphere. Colors of green, violet and red could be admired from the small windows of the cabins, but Ruzz Schaaks was anxious to leave for breakfast in the panoramic restaurant, where the clean large glass windows would offer a grand view of the lands below. Still, he had to wait. As usual, Mayr Schaaks was taking her time getting ready. Maybe it was the hat, maybe the hair, maybe the dress, something would always demand a lot more time than previously expected.
Ruzz felt uneasy in that first class cabin. He couldn’t pinpoint the reason. The cabin was luxurious by any standards, with the small but comfortable living room allowing for an agreeable rest, or an agreeable wait, next to the sleeping room. Still, he felt… watched. How could they be watched? They were many hundreds of palms above ground. The only way to see inside was from below. So why would he feel like that? He looked at the closet. He resisted the urge to look inside the closet. There was nothing there. Nothing but some clothes and accessories a maid had dutifully arranged upon their arrival. And then there was the bar. Small, but well provided. Ruzz knew they made small cameras, nowadays. The size of match boxes. Small enough to be concealed anywhere. Maybe they were watching. He pushed that feeling out of his mind. It wasn’t useful. It could jeopardize everything. And then… There was really nothing to watch anyway. They were an average married couple happy to be on this nice sightseeing trip.
Ruzz called to the room.
“Honey, we’re missing the whole morning!”
“In a minute!” Replied her voice.
But Ruzz was unable to relax. He went to the bar, picked up a jar of water and served himself. As he drank, he opened the closet’s door ever so slightly. Nothing to see. Nothing but the clothes, and the handmade bags neatly stored in the back. He closed the door at the same time as the door to the room opened wide, and Mrs.Schaaks came out with a lovely summer dress made on purpose for her slender figure and a large white hat to match.
“There!” She announced. “I’m almost ready!”
Ruzz frowned.
“Almost?”
She went to the closet, smiling.
“Just relax, darling. We’re on vacation. What could be so urgent?”
“The vacation will last only a few weeks, honey. I’m not too keen on spending half the time waiting to go have breakfast.”
She opened a drawer and took out a bottle of perfume she used on herself.
“Don’t be a bore, darling. The more you wait, the better the taste. I’m aiming to increase your pleasure. That’s a wife’s role, isn’t it?”
Ruzz squeezed his lips and sighed.
“Let’s go, then.”
“At your command, darling.” She said, jumping forth, as lovely as ever. Even though she was only a few years younger than him, she looked fresh as a young girl. How did she do that? As Mayr walked to the door, Ruzz looked around the room.
“Are you content with this room?” He asked.
Mayr raised her eyebrow.
“Very. Why?”
He raised his shoulders.
“Oh, nothing… It’s just…” He brushed away that uncomfortable feeling. “Never mind. Let’s go.”
And they left.
*
About a minute after the Schaaks left the cabin, Nina Zauer came out of the wall. The gel-like white camouflage she had applied to the wall stuck to her whole body. She moved her arms and legs, shaking off the stiffness from several hours of being completely still. Then she was all business. She went directly to the closet. She took out one of the bags. She knew exactly which one. From a small well-concealed pocket under her arm, she took her tools. She used them to open the bag’s lock. Then her skilled fingers felt the lining until she found the secret compartment. She used her tools again, and she opened it. There is was. The small black chip. She put it in the small pocket along with her tools.
She was placing the bag back in place when she felt the door of the cabin opening. Moving silently but swiftly, she went into the closet and closed it behind her. She could see very little out, but enough to observe Ruzz Schaaks crossing the room with an annoyed expression on his face. He went into the sleeping room. Nina waited very still. Suddenly, she noticed a very slight footprint of camouflage gel printed on the carpet. From a concealed sheath she took a sharp blade. If Ruzz noticed the footprint she would have to kill him, even though that would jeopardize the whole mission, she would have no choice.
Ruzz came back to the room with a woman’s white purse in his hand. He was going out, but he stopped and looked around. Something was off. Nina prepared herself. But finally, Ruzz shrugged and left the cabin. Nina sighed. She stayed put. She would wait a few more minutes before cleaning the room of any signs of her presence and then vanish. She had a cabin of her own, and a solid alias and means at her disposal. She would vanish, and she would never see the Schaaks again.
*
Ruzz Schaaks met with Mayr in the corridor, where she was waiting, looking outside, to the wild and colorful landscape as far as the eyes could see. She took the purse from his hands.
“And?” She asked.
He nodded.
“She was there.”
She contained a smile.
“So it’s done?”
He nodded again.
“It’s done.”
She embraced his arm, and they started walking as a loving married couple on vacation would.
“I’ll call it in.” She said. And then they would have breakfast.
EPISODE 3 – BACK
Captain Mirany Cavo leaned against her chair on the bridge of the W.S.Harvy. Her hands rested on her overalls’ pockets. Her eyes rested on the dark, non-existent horizon. The convoy was returning to Webbur. We were heading back home.
I feigned an itch and caught a glimpse of Mira’s profile. Her lovely straight nose, her calm forehead, smooth eyebrows, flowing blond hair. A flash came to my mind. A flash of her beautiful body, naked, sleeping.
*
Her beautiful white body sleeping beside me, in the hot, quiet morning. Her round breasts sagging just enough to be even more attractive, her ribs showing a bit, her firm stomach with a drop of sweat sliding forever, her smooth legs…
Mira’s eyes opened slightly. She smiled with her perfect mouth. I leaned down. The tip of my nose caressed her inner tight. I knew that smooth part of her body. I knew it well. I had wandered there a few times already. My nose picked up the scent that always took me by suggestive surprise every time it hunted down there for tantalizing treats. I kissed her tight. Her lips were expecting me further on. Already wet. Already waiting. I licked her. Her whole body shook when I did it. Her slender fingers entangled in my hair. She moaned a little. She squirmed. And again. I took my time. A long time. Comfortable between her legs. Anywhere between her legs. Once my loins, once my torso and my hands, now my head and my lips. It didn’t matter. I felt comfortable, while she shook, and twisted and squirmed. While she moaned and sighed in the end. I felt at home.
I went up and looked into her eyes. I made a fake salute.
“Captain…” I joked.
She lost her smile.
“Don’t.” She said, seriously. “Don’t.”
She was right. It wasn’t funny. I kissed her with my lips wet from her juices. She kissed me back. Then she pushed me gently to the side. She crawled down. And she engulfed me with her mouth. There were these little games she played down there. With her lips, and her tongue,
and occasionally, with her teasing teeth. She did it for as long as it took. Having fun. In a gift. A very deliberate, obvious and primal gift. Until I came.
Later, we were putting our boots on, back to back, each of us on each side of the bed.
“This can’t happen again” I started, my heart stuck in my throat. “I’m a Navy officer. If they find out…”
“It won’t.” She interrupted. “It won’t.”
She got up, starting to leave. But I stopped her.
“Wait.”
I pushed her to me. We kissed passionately. Then she caressed my cheek, gently. Then she left.
*
“First buoy up ahead, Captain.”
We were entering the Eeron, Zhany was announcing. Mira said nothing. She was worried. I knew she was worried. And I knew why. We had the hulls full of people. Refugees. Thousands of them. Mostly women and children. And after our first few crossings, none of us was deluded about the danger we were in. About the chances we had of surviving again. There was a counter machine somewhere, somehow, trying to figure out the average runs a ship was expected to do before it was destroyed. But it was too soon to tell. Too early in the war to know. We just knew it wouldn’t be many.
“Second buoy, 11-11, as expected, Captain.”
“Very well” replied Mirany. She got up. We were well under way to cross the Eeron, there wasn’t much she could do on the bridge. It would take more than a day for us to clear the asteroid belt. She was nervous, but she forced herself to look calm and composed. She looked at me. It was a casual, professional look. I smiled a little, giving her strength.
“You have the bridge, X.O.”
“Yes, Captain, I have the bridge.”
*
Even when we were on Webbur, there wasn´t much time to get away from the fleet. More than not, we were posted in the same hotels, waiting or preparing for the next convoy.
I watched her sitting alone at the hotel bar, drinking awrey on the rocks. Her blouse a button too open, too careless. Maybe already tipsy. Her blond hair flowing over the shoulders.
“Hi, stranger,” I said. “Can I buy you a drink?”
“Sure, stranger.” She smiled. “As long as you take me to bed afterwards.”
“Your wish is… well, my wish too.” I didn’t want to say «command».
She almost laughed.
“You’re such a lousy one-liner, Byl. But I’m too drunk to care.”
I raised my glass.
“To the Harvy.”
“Fuck, yeah.” She replied, raising her glass. “May she leave us alone for a few days, so we can fuck like rabbits.”
I was probably a little drunk myself, and she was as beautiful as ever.
“Fuck, yeah. That’s the best toast I ever heard!”
She emptied her glass, I emptied mine. Then she got up, and looked me in the eye and said:
“Come with me, kiddo. Right now.”
I just followed her. We barely made it to the room. She closed the door and assaulted my mouth with hers, and I almost ripped her blouse open and took her breasts in my hands, and then in my mouth. She made me trip down to the floor, and she grabbed my penis hard through the pants, I almost screamed in pain and took the trousers off as fast as I could, at the same time she took hers off, and we were naked, and she jumped me and mounted me, and we fucked hard, and then I rolled over her, and pinned her hands to the floor and got deep inside her, as far and as fast as I could. And then we moaned hard, together, like animals. Feeling like animals. Loving it. Loving each other’s animal. Wild. Bursting through every inch of skin.
Then it was over, and we stayed there. I looked into her eyes, her watery blue eyes, and she looked into mine, our breaths very close to each others’. And she said:
“Stay inside me.”
“I will,” I said.
“As long as you can.”
“I will,” I said. I rolled back, so she came on top, again, and let her rest her head on my chest, and she slept. Peacefully.
*
“X.O.”
I looked at Zhany.
“What is it?”
“Priority call, sir. For you and the Captain. From Captain Saltz.”
This convoy was the HC14. Saltz was leading the run again. That was the third time we had him. And the truth was: we were getting to like him more and more. The conversations we had, on QC1 and after that, had led to more conversations higher up the chain of command, and the formation of the convoys had changed very quickly.
The 20-ship long parallel lines traveling fast through empty space was a thing of the past. Now we moved in a compact square. 7 ships by 7. At least an escort on each side of the square, so it would take them a lot less time to get next to any one ship in the formation. This meant the whole convoy had to travel slower. And each ship had to be careful not to get off the path in the slightest, or she could bump into another. There had been discussions of making the convoys into cubes, even tighter. But a simple square gave it more flexibility for there could always be escape routes up or down. As far as we were concerned, this formation was far better than the parallel lines. And it had been impressive how quickly it had evolved.
“Inform the Captain, then.”
“Yes, sir.”
We had five escorts, on this trip. Two at the rear (one a little bit up, another a little bit down), and the other three on each side. The Ascim was on point, as usual. And we had the Loghi on our left flank again.
“Sir, the Ayari reports an asteroid on the starboard side,” said Rock, at the helm. “The convoy is shifting two degrees port.”
“You can change your course, Rock.”
“Aye, sir, changing course.”
No one called anyone ‘sir,' on the Harvy. But they got used to calling me ‘sir.' Don’t know why.
“The Captain asks you to join her in her quarters for the call, sir.” Said Zhany.
I raised my eyebrow. That was unusual.
“Very well” I replied. “The bridge is yours, Rock.”
“Yes, sir.”
*
There was a secret pact between us. A pact that said that while aboard, we didn’t touch each other, we didn’t kiss, we didn’t show any sign of affection. This was our ship. Our baby. And we would take care of it as we were supposed to. Professionally. A complicit smile was all we actually shared once in a while, to remind us of what we were to each other. It was strange, overall, but it was what we did. Our ritual. Our way.
Captain Saltz’s call was passed through to Mira’s office. I sat next to her, and we both hailed the Navy officer.
“Mr.Iddo, I’m going to need you, I’m afraid.”
“Sir?”
“We had an incident aboard the Loghi. A couple, actually.”
“Anything serious, sir?”
“Well, you could say that. Captain Neehan had an accident. Fell down a flight of stairs on a drill and bumped his head. He won’t be fit for action for a while. He was actually evacuated to the Ascim, we have a better medical ward.”
“Is he okay?” asked Mirany.
“He will be in a few days. Meanwhile, his second in command took over the ship, but he ran into a bit of trouble.”
“A bit of trouble, sir?” I raised my eyebrow.
“This was his first command, and it seems he is not prepared for it. Or something. We may have misjudged the boy.”
“Something happened?” inquired Mira.
“You could say that. It took him 24 hours to get a mutiny on his hands.”
“A mutiny? What do you mean?”
“It seems the men simply stopped following his orders, I’m not sure. We will have an inquiry. But the boy closed himself in his cabin for a day, and we ended up having to bring him up to the Ascim as well. The second lieutenant has assumed command, but I would much rather have someone a bit more senior running that frigate. She’s 20% of our firepower. She must be in top condition. I was wondering if we could count on Mr.Iddo for the job, Captain.”
/>
An avalanche of feelings burst inside my mind. What the hell! Back to the Navy? The proper Navy? At the command of a frigate!? This… this was an old dream coming true! However… Leaving the Harvy… Leaving Mira…. I couldn’t. But was it real? Commanding a frigate? A convoy escort? What the hell!?
I looked at Mira, hesitant, not knowing what to do. I wouldn’t leave her, but… Her face was calm, confident. She knew what to do.
“Of course, Captain,” she said. ”When do you need him?”
I was shocked. The easiness with which she said that. So calm. Was she indifferent to my presence? Didn’t she care?
“Well… As soon as possible, I would say” replied Saltz.
“He’ll be ready presently,” she said.
“Oh, good.”
“I’ll send a shuttle to the Loghi in… what do you say, Mr.Iddo, an hour?”
I felt paralyzed. I didn’t know what to do. I was divided. I couldn’t answer her question. I felt as if my heart and my brain were bumping hard against each other. All had been decided as if I wasn’t even there.
“Would that be enough, lieutenant?” she asked again.
I looked at her, mesmerized. She was so calm. So composed. I… I didn’t know what to think. She finally looked back to Captain Saltz and answered for me.
“Mr.Iddo is just coming out of a long shift, Captain, and he is a bit tired. But I’m sure he will be able to take command of the Loghi before he rests, isn’t that so, Mr. Iddo?”
“Y… Yes” I managed.
“He’ll leave before the hour, Captain Saltz,” she said.
“That’s perfect!” smiled Saltz. “I need that ship in good hands. Don’t let me down. Over and out.”
Saltz’s face disappeared from the screen. I looked at Mira. She looked at me. And inside a second her face let slip three revealing expressions: pride in me, then worry, then… fear. Like she thought she’d never see me again. Like she didn’t want to lose me. And then her face just went calm and smooth again. And I felt like I’d learned more about her in that second than in the last month.
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