"See? She's not really any better off than us," Sheila said.
Ceriga asked, "Either of you volunteer to sleep with the Captain? I did."
"You slept with him?" asked Amanda.
"Not yet. I volunteered to is all," Ceriga replied.
"How's this work? Are we supposed to be prostitutes?" asked Sheila.
"Nothing like that at all. There's no sex involved. Chief Dickson explained it to me. The Captain suffers from nightmares if he sleeps alone. It was because of an accident he was in before they had rescue service. Shelly usually sleeps beside him to keep him from having nightmares but she doesn't have as much time as she did before her promotion. Now she needs to have someone fill in occasionally," Ceriga said.
"How do you volunteer?" asked Sheila.
"Does he sleep in the raw? Does he mind that whoever sleeps with him is naked?" asked Amanda.
"I don't know yet how he sleeps or if he minds if whoever's with him is naked. I told Chief Dickson that I was willing. I guess you have to talk to your team chief if you want to volunteer," Ceriga answered.
"Chief Laumer will never agree to it. I think she hates us. Especially me," Amanda said.
"I don't think she hates us. She's just tough so we won't get killed on the job," Sheila said.
Amanda asked, "Haven't you ever seen how she looks at me? If her eyes could kill, I'd be dead now."
"How about men? Can they volunteer?" Irving asked.
"Forget it. I'm sure you're not his type," Amanda said.
***
"Well, that's another one the allies took out. That was neat the way they did it," Jimmy said.
"Sure was. Pretty nifty getting in there with the stealth fighters to take out their air force and the government palace making it possible for a guerilla unit to take over the government. Nice and slick with few casualties," Alex replied.
"Maybe this war won't get as bad as I first thought it would," Jimmy said.
"Anymore nukes launched?" Isaac asked.
"Only the four so far. I understand that the US is putting up two more satellites to complete their coverage of the globe," Jimmy answered.
"Well, that's one less thing to worry about. We just got word that Jerrod Brump is suspected of attempting sabotage on Venus in an attempt to drag them back into the war. Ralph stumbled onto that and sent out the warning," Isaac said.
"Good for old Ralph! Hope he finds the son-of-a-bitch who hurt Gene!" Alex exclaimed.
"I do, too. Unfortunately, the Venus authorities are looking for him too. They suspect him of murdering Daniel Brump," Isaac said.
***
"How should I enter his quarters?" Ceriga asked.
"Just wear your robe there and enter the room. He doesn't stand on formalities. If he's already in bed, then just slip in beside him. If not, then make sure you're sleeping on the outside of the bed unless you wait up for him," Shelly answered.
"How's he sleep?" Ceriga asked.
"Well, he used to wear either his underwear or pajamas. Then he noticed he perspired too much when he woke up in cold sweats. Since then, he's kind of adjusted to sleeping in the raw. It's easier on his laundry that way and conserves water for everyone," Shelly answered.
"How's he prefer us to be?" Ceriga asked.
"I always slept in the nude so I wouldn't wake up soaked. He didn't complain. Anyway, it's up to you how you sleep with him," Shelly answered.
"Did you ever, uh—?" Ceriga asked.
Shelly sighed before answering. "Yes, but it was because I wanted to. He never forced himself on me or asked if I would. He did it because I wanted to. He's full of pride and much too much a gentleman to do otherwise."
"He's a lot like my brother in that respect then. Seguma is very proud of himself and hates to settle for being second. He's a very accomplished mathematician. Did you know that he's working on the solution for FTL engines?"
"First I've heard of it. I'm sure you're proud of him. Well, I've told you what I can about Richard, I mean, Captain Saberhagen's habits. All I can do is wish you luck tonight and thank you for taking my place," Shelly replied.
***
Ralph held up his hands after placing his weapon down. He waited patiently as the authorities cautiously moved closer to take him in. He felt stupid for having been found so easily before he could locate Jerrod.
***
Ceriga undressed in her quarters and considered her options. It was up to her now. There was no backing out without hurting someone who everyone cared about. Her words to Chief Dickson about knowing the golden rule came back to remind her that there was a shipmate in need whom she was capable of helping. She spurned putting on anything under the robe she picked up and slipped on. Ceriga turned out the light and left her quarters to pad silently down the corridor to Captain Saberhagen's quarters to spend the night beside him. Along the way, she wondered if she should offer herself. She couldn't remember Chief Laumer stating whether sex made the Captain sleep any better or not. Anyway, she knew she couldn't become pregnant even if she did offer herself. It would take an operation to reverse the sterilization she went through before she could or would have to be concerned with pregnancy. As well, she knew it wasn't something she hadn't tried before. Just before she reached his quarters, she decided she'd offer herself only if he appeared to be desperately in need of comforting.
Ceriga opened the hatch to his quarters and walked in quietly on bare feet. It took her a moment to become used to the darkness before she saw from the little light that came in from behind her in the corridor that he was already in bed. She closed the door behind her, dropped her robe, and hurried over to slip in beside him. She felt his naked body against hers and remembered how it felt the first time she made love with a man. It would be so easy to give in to him, she thought.
***
Richard glanced at the internal rescue service reports. Ordinarily, he would have been alarmed that Space Rescue Three was still in pursuit of Chaser Two. However, the war on Earth had stopped virtually all space traffic, so there was little for either of the rescue ships to do, except that Space Rescue Three was doing what it should. Richard noted that two liners were touring the solar system. A few freighters were in the process of arriving at Mars or Venus. Most of what was headed for Earth, he had diverted to the Moon. It took a lot of arm-twisting and some reminders from him that he was only thinking in terms of what was best for them before he convinced some of the commercial interests to permit their ships to be interned until the war on Earth was over. He was actually beginning to like the idea of the defensive satellites circling Earth since they were similarly protecting his station from attack.
He reviewed his ship's resources, noting that water was still sufficient. However, it could become critical sooner than expected if he did nothing about it since there was no way for him to know how long the war on Earth would last. After all, despite recycling processes there was still some daily loss of water due to evaporation through microscopic leaks that couldn't be recovered.
"Lieutenant Grisham, pass the word around to the entire crew that showers should be doubled up. Personnel are to take a shower with someone else whenever possible to conserve water. Time limits will remain the same, though," Richard said.
"Yes sir. Are you going to allow the crew to select their own bath buddies?" Grisham replied.
"Might as well. They're not going to do anything in the shower that they can't do somewhere else. They're adults and can chaperon themselves," Richard answered.
"I'll get the word out immediately."
Richard went through the last of the reports dealing with the inventory before he began his walking tour of the ship. As he left the bridge and entered the corridor beside his quarters, Ceriga stepped out of his quarters with her robe on.
She smiled at him and asked, "Sleep well?"
"Yes, I did. Thank you," Richard answered.
She walked beside him as they were headed in the same direction. She asked, "You were asleep, but I wondered
if you wanted to do anything."
Richard softly replied, "That's not expected of you."
"I didn't say it was, sir. I just wanted to find out if you're interested, that is, if you're not gay. I don't want to offend you." She let her robe part to reveal enough of herself that he might see what she had to offer in case he hadn't noticed earlier.
"Actually, I haven't had much time to think of such matters. For your information, no, I'm not gay. However, I don't take advantage of my crew, either. It's best if I don't get involved so I can avoid any appearances of a conflict of interest. One such occurrence was already sufficient," Richard said.
"Such as with Chief Laumer."
"Precisely. Would you mind closing your robe, please? I'd rather not have it appear now that I'm receiving special favors."
Ceriga closed her robe while wondering if he wasn't interested because of what he said or what he might not be saying. Still, she couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to have him inside her. Having seen him last night, she discovered that he was everything that Amanda and Sheila said he was. Just remembering the closeness of his body to hers last night sent a chill through her. She couldn't help but remember how close he was to her once during the night when he turned toward her. She could have encouraged him then and let events happen. She was still puzzled why she hadn't done so. She guessed that her reason for not doing so was to let him sleep since that was her main purpose in being beside him. Had he been awake during that circumstance, she had little doubt that she would have done otherwise.
She stopped at the common area while Richard continued on about his tour. Isaac was already up and nodded at her as he came out of his quarters with a towel wrapped around him.
"Everything go well?" Isaac asked.
"Yes, Chief. He slept like a baby," Ceriga answered.
"That's good. Get your towel. Do you want to shower with me or someone else?"
"What, Chief?" Ceriga asked.
"I just got the official word that everyone on board is to shower with a buddy so we can conserve water. You can either shower with me or select someone else," Isaac said.
"Oh! Well, give me a moment then to get my towel. I'll be right with you, Chief," Ceriga exclaimed.
***
Ceriga noticed the message rolling across the bulkhead display. It verified what the Chief told her as she placed her robe and towel on a hook before entering the shower behind the Chief.
"Didn't believe me, huh?" Isaac asked.
"Quite the contrary, Chief. To tell the truth, I was surprised to discover that it wasn't routine when I first got into space. It seemed like a waste of water to me then to find that we enjoyed private showers. I was actually a bit disappointed. This makes more sense overall."
"Really? You know, I've heard that comment quite often. You're not alone in wondering how come it wasn't the other way before now," Isaac said.
"Chief, is there much fooling around on board?"
"Why do you ask? You find some—oh, last night. You're worried because you made it with the Captain, right?"
"No sir. He slept soundly the whole night and nothing else happened. It's just that I was tempted once to let matters happen. I just wanted to know how often such things occur. Are they common or should they be avoided?"
"Ceriga, it's really hard to say. I think it's expected that such liaisons are bound to happen out here. That's one of the reasons that we all have to undergo surgical sterilization until we leave the space services. I think the planners knew ahead of time that human nature couldn't be changed, so they took the only precaution left to them. I guess that's why we don't go checking on each other to see who's in the right bed or not. What you do in your spare time is your own business and no one else's concern provided it doesn't jeopardize the safety of the ship or cause other trouble. Most of us realize that and do our best to remain discreet when we do anything, though it's not always possible," Isaac said, ending with a short chuckle.
"What's so funny, Chief?" Ceriga asked.
"I was just remembering one time that discreetness failed. You'll probably hear the tale sooner or later. I can only tell you now that the story has been greatly exaggerated in the retelling over the years, though it's based on the truth. Anyway, it's a grand story that I'll be glad to tell you sometime later."
"Why not now?" she asked.
"Um, well, it's a bit graphic. I do tend to become aroused just telling it and I really don't want to offend you."
"I can't see how that could make anyone's body more or less offensive when they're already naked. Go ahead and tell it while we're showering. I like good stories, especially sexy ones."
Isaac said, "Just remember, you asked to hear this," as he continued to scrub himself.
***
Ceriga laughed hysterically upon hearing the ending to Isaac's story. Whether he knew it or not, even he was exaggerating it some.
"Attention all Space Rescue One personnel. This is an alert scramble. This is for training purposes only. No real emergency is involved."
Ceriga fumbled her soap when she first heard the intercom blare forth. "What now, Chief? Are we supposed to run out of here to a meeting like this?"
"We might if it was a level one emergency that was close by. However, it's intended only to let us know what's going on. Finish your shower. Then we'll get dressed before we go to any meeting."
She bent down and retrieved her soap. As she stood back up, she saw what Isaac meant by being aroused. Had he been different in his behavior to her, she might have felt concern for her safety. Instead, she wondered if she might one day like to have him in bed. He certainly looked and sounded friendly enough to her.
***
Isaac and Shelly sat at opposite ends of the conference table. Their teams sat along both sides between them. Isaac switched on an outside camera to give the teams a view of their upcoming practice.
"Okay, my team is going out to demonstrate the correct usage of Quik-Cut and Quik-Seal on that old wreck. Before any of us step outside, we will all review and study the blueprints for that ship. Our first goal is to identify the ship by name and type. From there, we will discover what was on board before we discuss how we would approach it. You have your missions, technicians. Get to it," Isaac said.
***
Richard walked into the team ready room that both were using. He glanced around at the trainees being guided through the proper steps necessary to making a safe rescue. He noticed that all the technicians were going through the steps as well, whether they had a trainee to supervise or not. He nodded approvingly when he noticed Isaac looking his way. Then he quietly walked back out of the ready room leaving them to work undisturbed.
***
"Our next phase is to actually go out to the wreck and use the Quik-Cut and Quik-Seal as I mentioned before. Team One will do the actual drill while Team Two watches from on board. This is not because we don't trust you. It's standard procedure to always keep one team on board as backup unless circumstances dictate otherwise. There's no way to know ahead of time when some sort of emergency might happen. Occasionally it's been necessary for the ship to leave one team behind to take the other team to another nearby site. Hopefully that won't happen while we're doing this drill. Team One, get your suits out. Prepare to dress and inspect," Isaac said.
The team members moved purposefully to their lockers, drew their suits, and began undressing before putting their suits on. Shelly narrated as they did.
"Always move without haste. Never try to hurry. Doing so might cause you or someone else to rip a suit. Once the suit is out, hang it in the common area and make a visual inspection of it from all angles. When you're satisfied, only then do you undress. You'll notice that most technicians only remove their outer uniform. Occasionally a technician will undress a bit further. That's basically a personal preference you'll determine for yourself. If you're going to another ship where you might have to open up your suit, you should keep that in mind before undressing completely prior t
o putting your space suit on. Otherwise, plan on either being uncomfortable or giving others a free show in such circumstances. Do not express outrage because someone notices part of you. Remember that it happened because of your own decision, so choose wisely."
Shelly paused in her explanation as she let the technicians catch up with what she had to say next. It was clear by then that one of the team members was stripping down all the way to stand there without shame in front of everyone as he took his suit down from the hook.
"When you begin to dress, do it slowly and carefully for the same reasons as before. This becomes more important when you're doing this in zero-gravity. Then the slightest movement can set you drifting in the wrong direction. Just take your time in dressing."
The technicians caught up with her narration once more. Shelly said, "Once you're dressed, turn to your buddy and visually inspect your buddy's suit from every angle possible. Once you both have visually inspected each other, inform the team chief if and when you're ready."
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