Skybound

by S. W. Gunn

  “Thanks Mark.”

  “On a side note, when you were slowly dancing with the Commander I noted that she had a physiological reaction that I have noted to be common in women who desire engaging in sexual intercourse.”

  “What?”

  “She was aroused when pressed against you. I believe if you attempt to engage in sexual intercourse on your next date with her that she will be ninety eight point four percent likely to be a willing partner.”

  Johnathan’s stomach suddenly felt ill. He had no idea how in the world he would ‘attempt to engage in sexual intercourse’ with her. Although he had to admit it was something that he was very interested in doing.

  “Mark how in the world would I attempt that?”

  “I assumed you would ask so I came up with a plan that you could utilize.”

  “Such as?”

  “Well first I have rely on you somehow convince her to join you in a private location that would ensure no disturbances. Ideal locations would include either of your quarters or one of the many unused rooms with a locking mechanism. The best choice obviously would be your quarters since being here would give you an additional layer of confidence needed to make an attempt.”

  “Okay…. Get her alone in my quarters. And then what?”

  “Surely you remember your lessons at the education center.”

  Johnathan wailed, “Of course!”

  “Well that involves inserting your” Johnathan interrupted, “I know I know. I just don’t know how to get to that point.”

  Chuckling loudly Mark replied, “Well from everything I have read female humans want an aggressive man. I would suggest you kiss her like you did last night while you touch her. Then simply just start removing her clothing. I am confident if she is interested in sexual intercourse she will either let you remove her clothing for her or she will assist you. You will have to be on your own during that point as it would be rude of me to watch. Plus it is not the act of sexual intercourse itself I am curious about as much as the emotional complexities that I am unable to feel I want to learn about.”

  Johnathan nodded. He appreciated Mark’s help.

  “I like her nickname for your Johnathan. John. I already knew of the name but I was never sure if you liked it.”

  Johnathan chuckled before stating, “Honestly no one has called me it since my father died.”

  “That is most unfortunate. I believe that I will stick with Johnathan since that is what I have called you this whole time. Not to purposefully change the subject but you should head out.”

  His stomach rumbled.

  “I’m going to get breakfast as well but then I’ll be back okay?”

  “Of course. I plan to develop a few strategies to assist you in successfully convincing the Commander to visit you here.”

  “Thank you.” Johnathan told him before slipping on his shoes and leaving his quarters.

  Johnathan headed to the tailor’s shop first. The young lady did such a good job he decided to see her again. He would get his breakfast after placing an order and then come back when it was ready. The walk was pretty quick, although he swore he sensed people looking at him, and when he arrived at the shop he was not surprised to see the same young woman there. This time she was wearing a complex looking white dress with a swirling multi-colored pattern on it.

  The moment he walked in her facial expression changed to a look of recognition and she said to him. “You’re back. How did the birth celebration go?”

  “It was good thank you.”

  He was slightly surprised when she asked next, “Did you go with a date?”

  “Umm... Yes.” He replied after a bit of an unusual pause.

  “That’s wonderful. I wish I could have gone but I had no date. Do I know your date? I bet she’s a lucky girl.”

  Johnathan just chuckled.

  Dreamily she said, “If I could go on a date with anyone it would be the First Officer. He’s so beautiful. Those eyes, his arms, and everything about him is just perfection. A shame he’s dating the Commander.”

  Without thinking he stated, “He’s not.”

  “But I heard he was.”

  Johnathan shook his head at her.

  He really wanted to change the subject so he said, “I was wondering if you could make me another outfit.”

  The young woman reached out with her hand and grasped his hand before saying, “Of course. What is the event?”

  “I’m having a lunch date at Matty’s.”

  She clapped her hands together before saying, “How exciting! It must have taken months to get a reservation. Oh I have just the thing. You’re eyes look like their hazel so we cannot really match the color but if we give you a dark blue it should look nice as a contrast with your skin tone and hair color.”

  “Alright.”

  “I already have your measurements. Just come back in a while and I’ll have it ready.”

  She waved at him. He returned her wave and then left the shop. As he walked towards the cafeteria he noticed even more people were looking at him. He was becoming quite uncomfortable so he changed his mind about which cafeteria to go to. He would just have to miss out on his omelet. As he entered the smallest cafeteria on the vessel the small crowd did not seem to notice him, which made him quite happy. He got himself a stir fry that had pieces of protein bar plus carrots, noodles, some type of sauce, and spinach. Once he finished eating he went back and collected his new outfit before heading straight back to his room.

  As he entered he said, “Hey Mark.”

  Much to his surprise Rose was sitting on his couch!

  “Sorry your friend isn’t here.” She told him.

  He blushed slightly at her. She was wearing her duty uniform, which consisted of a form fitting white tunic and a light gray skirt. The crest of the ‘Skybound’ was emblazoned on left breast of the tunic. Her hair was pulled back tightly into a ponytail.

  She paused for a moment while looking at him before saying, “Can you get ready quickly?”

  Lifting up his bag slightly to show her he answered, “Yes. Let me take a quick shower and I’ll get dressed.”

  He started to turn when she said, “One second”

  Rising up from his couch, she walked up to him and kissed him. He dropped his bag and placed both of his hands on her shoulders before pulling her closer to return her passionate kiss.

  “Okay. Go get ready.” She instructed him as she broke their kiss.

  He nodded at her before picking his bag up and walking rapidly to his bathroom. Johnathan moved as quickly as he could to shower, brush his teeth, and get dressed. He made sure to use a little bit of the cologne that Mark ordered for him.

  The moment he stepped out of the bathroom Rose approached him and grabbed his hand before she took a solid look at him and stated, “And you’re wearing my favorite color.”

  He looked down at his tunic and remembered that it was blue. Reflecting on their entire time together she did seem to wear blue a lot.

  Chuckling he commented, “The tailor selected it. She said it would look good with my skin tone and hair color.”

  “What’s your favorite color?”

  “Orange.” He informed her.

  With a hearty laugh she asked, “Is this a new choice since you started dating me?”

  He flushed lightly before answering, “Honestly no.”

  Rose smiled before saying, “She’s right blue does look good on you. Let’s get going. I’d hate to be late. Matthew cancels reservations if you don’t show up on time.”

  Johnathan was surprised because she was the Commander. There could be no way that someone would cancel her reservation.

  She must have deduced what he was thinking because she then laughed lightly before saying, “Yes. He’ll even cancel my reservation. I had to find someone on the list who was supposed to be listed today and make a little trade from my own rations to get the spot.”

  Johnathan was flattered. He did not expect her to put so much ef
fort into impressing him. Honestly he would have been just as happy eating lunch at the cafeteria with her as he would have at a fancy restaurant. She tugged on his hand, which he guessed was a clue she wanted to walk, so he guided her out of his room and towards the elevator that would take them to the main promenade. As they walked he was very conscious of the fact the people were looking at them.

  He finally decided to just ignore them and concentrate on Rose so he turned to her and asked, “So how was your meeting?”

  She blew air through her lips before she answered, “It was dreadful. First, I had to deal with two of the counselors arguing about an expansion for the hydroponics bay. Next, they all got into a heated discussion about the planned release of population control. I felt like a mother trying to control a room full of crying children.”

  He chuckled. The thought that even at the highest levels of the population there was conflict did not really cross his mind and it amused him to think about it. Also he wondered about the population controls.

  “Population control?” He asked to prod more information from her.

  She looked at him before answering, “Yes. We’re currently only at about one third of the possible population of the eco-ship. I want to loosen the tight restrictions from when we first launched. Those rules were made when we had a much shorter life span it and this point make no sense since the ship can support more people.”

  Johnathan nodded at her. She was right; it made little sense to limit something that the eco-ship had plenty of space to manage. What he found odd was the fact they were arguing about it. He had always assumed that she was the highest authority on the vessel. He had to admit that he never really read into the organization of the vessel. He had been more interested first with his computers and then researching about Earth’s past.

  “What do you think?” She asked him.

  He thought about his many maintenance runs throughout the eco-ship. Many times he would walk about to empty hallways and even several empty levels. The ‘Skybound’ did indeed have space to spare.

  “I have to agree with you. The ‘Skybound’ has plenty of space.”

  “Well it took a bit of effort on my part but I convinced them to suspend the population controls until our population hits the estimate of three thousand five hundred. We’ll have the controls reinstated at that point to ensure a more rapid growth than we currently have. The goal is to set a replacement rate estimate that keeps our population around four thousand. The best part of that decision was sending personal notifications to every couple on the list to tell them that can have a baby. I can only imagine their joy when they find out.”

  Johnathan grinned at her. They entered the elevator, which was unusually empty for the time of day. He turned to look at her and she was facing forward. An urge to kiss her overcame him so he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. She had a tiny pause before she responded to his kiss by releasing her grip on his hand and setting her hand on his shoulder while returning his kiss. He was so involved in kissing her that he did not notice the elevator stop and the doors open. Several people walked onto the elevator. Rose broke their kiss and as he opened his eyes he looked at her and saw that she was smiling at him.

  Before he could say anything she announced, “This is our stop.”

  She grabbed his hand and they walked off of the elevator.

  As they moved down the main walkway of the promenade she asked, “You know I’m supposed to act with a certain level of decorum while in uniform right?”

  He blushed before sheepishly saying, “Sorry.”

  Laughing heartily she get him a nudge before saying. “Don’t be. If I had my way I’d spend a whole day just kissing you.”

  Johnathan felt wonderful to hear her say that to him. The thought of someone appreciating him on such a level was slightly overcoming him.

  He leaned forward to give her another kiss but she stopped him by placing a finger on his lips as she said, “But not now, I’ve got to at least pretend to have some decorum while in uniform.”

  All he could do was chuckle in response to her comment. She was so much fun to be around that it made him wonder if he was so completely self-absorbed that he might have been missing out on what others might have to offer. It was something he decided to talk with Mark about later.As they continued walking he spotted Matty’s in the distance. There was a large crowd waiting outside the entrance. As they approached the restaurant people moved to let them pass. Several of them happily greeted Rose, each of which she responded to warmly. The entryway of the restaurant was a small alcove with a door that Johnathan theorized led into the restaurant itself and a podium that was next to the door. The walls were a light yellow color and they had a string of flowing oranges and reds painted onto it that did not form a particular shape in general. It was nothing like any other decor on the eco-ship. Standing at the podium was a well-dressed young man wearing a form fitting yellow tunic and light brown trousers. He had dark brown skin, neatly cropped black hair, and his eyes were a dark brown color.

  As Rose walked up to him he said, “Commander. It is a pleasure to see you.”

  He glanced down at a datapad resting on the podium before stating, “And just in time for your reservation. Please follow me.”

  They followed him through the door and Johnathan was immediately confirmed right. It led to a small open area that was filled with twelve tables, each with their own chairs. The room itself was decorated in a happy bright series of colors that overlaid a light blue color. It was artful and reminded Johnathan of the modern deco style of the twentieth century. The restaurant had a light din of conversation that filled the room. All of the tables except one were full of occupants. The one empty table was next to an expansive window that looked out into the promenade. Standing next to the table was a man who looked a bit older than Johnathan. He had shortly cropped brown hair, brown eyes, and his square jaw gave him a rugged look. He was wearing a plain white tunic, white pants, a heavily stained apron, and a puffy white hat.

  As they approached the table the man said loudly, “Commander! It is a pleasure to have you and your guest here.”

  As they got close enough Rose released Johnathan’s hand and then clasped the man’s hand as a greeting.

  “Thank you so much Matthew.”

  “Of course. And who is your guest?”

  Rose released her grasp on the man before turning to Johnathan and saying, “Matthew this is my beau John. John this is Matthew, the owner and head chef.”

  Matthew extended his hand out, which Johnathan shook.

  “John it is pleasure to meet you.”

  Giving the man his best smile Johnathan replied, “Thank you so much sir.”

  Matthew turned back to Rose as he released Johnathan’s hand and announced, “Please have a seat. I have a wonderful meal planned. Our waitress will bring you some drinks and an appetizer while I prepare the main course.”

  Rose told him, “Thank you Matthew.”

  The man inclined his head before he turned and left. Rose walked over to the seat facing towards the crowd and paused, which he realized was a clue for him to help her sit. Moving quickly he pulled out the chair enough for her to sit before tucking the chair in. Next he walked around the table and sat across from her. The table was big enough that it could hold a full meal but small enough that he could reach out and touch Rose if he wanted to. Once he sat down she extended her left hand out onto the table towards him. Johnathan realized that she was giving him a hint to hold her hand so he tenderly took hold of her hand. She squeezed his hand softly as he grabbed her hand.

  “What do you think?” She asked.

  “It’s really nice. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  With a light laugh she told him, “There is nothing like Matty’s. His skill with food probably is on par with your talent with computers.”

  Johnathan grinned at her kind words. He decided to return the kind compliment.

  “Honestly,” He began, “I’m
much more impressed with you.”

  She flushed lightly before asking, “How is that John?”

  “You have an aura about you that just exudes a confidence and strength. People respond to your mere presence.”

  Squeezing his hand firmly she stated, “Well I’ve been trained to act as a leader.”

  Johnathan chuckled before declaring, “I doubt there’s enough training out there to get me to have your confidence and strength.”

  Her expression turned serious as she shifted to lean closer to him before she said, “John don’t underestimate yourself. Just from what I’ve seen of you, I have the greatest confidence that you can be so much more than you think you can.”

  He was surprised by her tone because she was deadly serious.

  Nodding at her he replied, “Okay.”

  Her facial expression relaxed and then she said with a light laugh, “I hope you don’t mind me so loudly declaring you my beau.”

  Johnathan shook his head.

  Again she leaned forward, which he responded to by leaning towards her, she then whispered, “The last year or so I’ve suffered a barrage of other men attempting to woo me. Originally I was planning to wait and learn more about you but I just got tired of men who I knew only were interested in me because of my position so I decided to go for it.”

  He just nodded in response to what she was saying.

  She continued whispering, “That’s also why I’ve been so open with you in public. I wanted to make it clear to everyone that I wasn’t available anymore.”

  A wistful look crossed her face after a pause before she then whispered, “If I had known that being with you was so wonderful I wouldn’t have waited so long.”