by Reiter
“I can assure you that I am not!” Adleon exclaimed. “But none of that addresses my confusion!”
“Okay. How ‘bout this?” Jocasta asked before she stepped forward and pressed her lips against Adleon’s. He moaned in protest, placing his hands on her shoulders. Jocasta quickly moved his right hand to her breast as she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him toward her. The robe was not a part of anyone’s formal wardrobe; merely a garment meant to be used, and kept, in the infirmary. The fabric was thin and light, and Adleon did not have to imagine what it would feel like to touch the woman’s bare chest.
His other hand quickly wrapped around her waist and she was lifted from her feet. Jocasta wrapped one leg around Adleon’s waist and moaned as she kissed him harder. He opened his mouth to receive hers and the taste of her tongue made his hand clench at her chest. She received the pain and the pleasure of his grasp and only clung to Adleon with greater fervor. As he turned and moved forward, Jocasta’s back slammed into the wall and she moaned in delight of the passion. His right hand caressed her body, with his left taking a handful of hair, pulling her face away from his so that he could kiss her neck. Jocasta gasped and sighed to let him know she approved as she felt him taste her skin. Her robe was nearly undone when Adleon put his forehead to her chest, just under her chin and slowly set the woman down. Her grasping touch softened to a gentle stroke and Jocasta opened her eyes and sighed.
“Close,” she thought as her body relaxed. “Colorful, but close.”
“Why did you do that?” Adleon whispered as his body began to shake.
“That doesn’t matter, Leon,” Jocasta whispered into his ear, kissing at his cheek and neck. “Easy, lover. Easy!
“Just ask yourself one thing: did you stop because you wanted to stop? That I can handle; no one is everybody’s cup of tea.” Jocasta continued to caress his face and run her fingers through his hair. “But if you stopped because of your temple code, then, baby, you’ve got issues.”
“Because I am true to my beliefs?!” Adleon asked, his eyes welling up with tears.
“You saved that limp prick’s life back on Zhok-Tarr,” Jocasta reminded Adleon. “… and the moment you let him know he had strayed from the path, he opened you up; without mercy and not a damn lick of hesitation or regret! And there is a part of you that still honors and respects him. For Kot’s sake, tell me how that sort of belief can be right!” She lifted his face so that she could look into his eyes. “You wanted me,” she said, lightly kissing Adleon on the lips.
“And you would have me to believe you wanted me?”
“I’m a lot of things, Gallant,” she said before kissing him once more. “… a tease is not on that list. You’re a damn fine man; you’ve been there for me and mine, I wanted to be there for you.”
“By having sex with me?!” he asked, looking at the floor, his arms still wrapped around her body.
“No, that was a selfish perk right there,” Jocasta chuckled a reply. “It’s been longer than I want to think about.
“But Adleon,” Jocasta whispered, taking hold of his face. “… I’ve seen many a god-lover, and when you read the teachings, it’s all full of love and light. Then men try to interpret every little nook and cranny and something always gets lost in the translation. You’re so busy making sure you’re faithful to the belief, you’re not taking the time to make sure the belief is being faithful to you!”
Adleon looked up at her and in an instant came to know the woman’s approach to leading her crew, following her ambitions, and living her life. Right or wrong, Adleon had enacted a boon to her and she would have returned that grace… being faithful to a belief that was faithful to her. As is thoughts mixed with the words of the Desert Witch, he smiled and kissed Jocasta hard on the mouth. She accepted the kiss, still gently stroking the side of his face; the kiss was welcome, but she knew the passion would not move beyond that. As their lips slowly parted she could see Adleon was just fine with that.
“Thank you, JoJo,” he said softly before stepping back from her. Jocasta gathered her robe and cinched it close. She licked her lips as she smiled at what could have been.
“Literally my pleasure, Gallant. By the by, just why is it called the Northern Temple?”
“She knows of Zeu Rex, but nothing of the temples,” Adleon pondered. “At first thought, that makes no sense… but then again, Zeu Rex did not create a temple, merely the way the temples follow.
“When the followers of… when the men who claimed they were students of Zeu Rex’s teachings fell into conflict with one another, one man decided he would walk his own path. His name was Trevor North, and so those who followed him called themselves members of the Northern Temple.”
“That kinda just blew what little respect I had for them,” Jocasta thought. “Nothing to do with the direction at all. No sense of style. Ugh!”
“It wasn’t not long before those who differed from those beliefs started to organize,” Adleon continued.
“As men often do,” Jocasta added.
“The Eastern Temple uses the rising sun as their symbol,” Adleon explained. “They wield MannA instead of ThoughtWill. The practitioners of EnerJa took to the name of the Western Temple, though I don’t know if they had a reason.”
“And the Southern?”
“There is no Southern Temple,” Adleon explained.
“Why not?”
“What would it stand for?” Adleon asked.
“Well, they’d be a helluva lot closer to the original if they practiced all three Energies,” Jocasta answered. “The guy who gave me the inside track on this stuff said that Zeu Rex never saw an energy form he didn’t like. And that goes for what his body and his genius could do, too.”
Adleon looked up as if he was trying to picture the end result of such a creature. He shook his head quickly and waved the whole thing off. “That would be impossible.”
“Exactly,” Jocasta said as she picked up her cane. “They don’t build you temples for just crossing the street!
“And just so you know, that assignment was not only for Tuitonn’s benefit,” Jocasta said as she walked to the nearest pole. “I was hoping that while you were opening doors inside that orb, you might just open a few inside yourself.”
Adleon opted not to say anything as he watched Jocasta ascend out of sight. He lowered his head and pondered the image once more. He asked himself if he had stopped before because he wanted to… or if that had indeed been a reaction of his training, his programming! With his eyes closed, he could see such a Chevalier as she had described. He chuckled and came within a breath of dismissing it.
“The portal wake,” he whispered, recalling the moment at the mines. “I used ThoughtWill to affect the aftermath of an incantation!” Adleon returned to the image he was building. It did not hurt matters to imagine that truly gifted Chevalier with his face.
Without initiative, leaders are simply workers in leadership positions.
Bo Bennett
(Rims Time: XII-4202.05)
“There’s no way that’s time!” Agatha whined as she came out of the simulator.
“You’re right,” Silnee said as she looked at her brace-com. “… it’s triple time, and unlike the last two occasions, Siekor is not willing to give you his slot today. So, out you go.”
“Siekor!”
“Don’t even bother, Aggie,” Siekor said as he walked by Agatha, dodging her attempts to grab onto him. He entered the simulator and quickly closed the door. Agatha was only slightly disappointed and she turned to face Silnee who was starting the program for Siekor.
“Out with it, Tolip. How many hours?” Agatha asked.
“We really haven’t been crew that long,” Silnee answered. “… and a good bit of our time went into Z’s Basic Training.”
“What kind of training regimen would not include some time in that genius machine?!” Agatha asked, almost dropping to one knee.
“I’ll be sure to tell Z how much you love it.”
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“So… how long?” Older hazel eyes looked up at younger soft blue, and silent pleading led to Silnee smiling.
“Knocking on the door to a hundred,” she reported.
“Knocking to open the door, or has it already closed behind you?” Agatha pressed.
“Waiting for it to open,” Silnee admitted.
“By the way you handled the ride that got us away from the mines, I could tell you’d logged hours somewhere. Would you mind if I give you a word of friendly advice?” Agatha asked, knowing it was a sensitive area. Pilots were very touchy people when it came to their flying, and unrequested criticism was the start of many a skirmish. “You might want to see if Z will program up real vehicles for you.”
“What?!” Silnee asked, very surprised. “What do you mean by that?”
“See, you guys don’t know how good you’ve got it,” Agatha quickly stated as she pointed at the simulator. “I’ve been in an Imperial simulator unit. The graphics aren’t that clean, and you always have that feeling that it’s not real. I got lost in that damn thing… more than once!”
“I know, I could hear you scream when you crashed,” Silnee stated. “You’re very aggressive. I mean you’re good, but wow, you never let up!”
“It’s good and bad to be that way. Good when I’ve got Marlene with me, really bad when she’s not there. I keep expecting to hear her voice, have her take up the slack, or kick in a laser cannon shot to make a hole wider for me. That’s how real it felt.
“Which brings me to my point,” Agatha continued. “Don’t get me wrong, I think Z is a freakin’ genius! My old ground crew kept us up and flying, but everything operates like it’s brand new in that program.”
“That’s because that’s the way it feels at the controls,” Silnee stated. “I’ve flown this ship, the lander-shuttle, and the Kulri-Kraythe. They all handle the way they do in the simulator.” The doors to the chamber opened and Annsura walked into the room.
“Much obliged on the heads-up suggestion though,” Silnee said as Annsura walked up to Agatha.
“Murder, Z wants to see both you and Mayhem in his main lab. Your girl’s already on her way.”
“You could have called over the system for that,” Agatha pointed out.
“I know how you kids can get with your video games,” Annsura replied with a patronizing smile. “My job is to make sure no one keeps Z waiting. Let’s get to it.”
“Aye, Cutter, I’m on my way. Nice talking to you, Tolip. Maybe we’ll find the time to see who’s top stick around here.”
“That’s already secured,” Silnee said quickly. “No one can touch the Captain.”
“You mean you haven’t been able to touch her,” Agatha stated with an evil smile. “Yeah, she dances around you like wasp taking out a butterfly, but I wonder how she’d measure up to some Tandem Time!” Silnee started to make a reply but Annsura pointed at the door out. Putting up her hands in surrender, Agatha left the room.
“Thanks for handling these sim runs,” Annsura said. “I’d like to think we’re easing some of Satithe’s load around here.”
“I hope we are,” Silnee said. “She’s already thanked me for taking this over. I gotta tell you, it’s therapeutic after the ass-whooping the Captain laid on me! And in case no one else has said it, good work back there on Gulmurr.”
“You’ll be happy to know both Z and the Captain gave me an attagirl already,” Annsura answered, taking a moment to look pleased with herself.
“Very happy, now that you mention it. Things got a little dicey for a second.”
“Yeah, they did. And that reminds me of something,” Annsura said as she looked up at Silnee. The Cutter lifted her brace-com and opened a channel. “Satithe, as soon as Siekor’s done and the tandem twins are clear of Z, I need everyone in the Rec Room for a crew meeting.”
“Acknowledged, Cutter.”
“Thanks, Satithe.” Annsura touched her hand to the arm of her friend and left the chamber. Silnee looked down at Siekor’s progress and decided to increase the intensity of the exercise. She did so without issuing any warning, and was impressed that he was able to handle the sudden change in mission intensity.
** b *** t *** o *** r **
Jocasta took a seat behind her desk and drank the last bit of the rum she had poured. She hissed after swallowing it and put her cigaro in her mouth. She leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and allowed her body to relax. Her left shoulder had paid the price of her inability to maintain her discipline and Z, if nothing else, was thorough. He had made her pay for every misstep in their match. He had recognized why she was trying so much harder, but effort focused on the body was effort misplaced. In order for her body to move more efficiently in the performance of a commanded movement, she would first have to improve her mind and spirit. Otherwise she was not tempering her steel, she was fighting out of desperation.
“But I’m no fan of meditation,” she thought, allowing her eyes to slowly open. “It has its place, and I’m really glad Z thinks its mother’s milk, but my mind has to take a different route to get settled. So far, there’s only one thing that I’ve found that truly quiets me.” Spinning in her chair, Jocasta faced her vault and put in her code, closing her eyes, and waited for the mind-scan to verify her identity and her mindset. It was as if she could feel silken fingertips caressing over her brain, and she smiled at the sensation. A series of beeps preceded the unlocking and opening of the door. She sat back in her chair, gazing down on the gem, the sextant, and the scroll case. She smiled brightly, taking in a deep breath. “The freaking unknown man! Find me the Observation Deck to the Abyss and let me be!” Her nostrils flared, recalling the first and only piece of information her Chief Engineer had given to her.
“By all appearances, I would say that the device is sentient,” he had stated. “It responds differently to me than it does to you. Shall I take it to the lab for further analysis?”
“Soon, but not right now,” she whispered, repeating her response to Z and the directive she was now giving herself. She used her foot to close the door to the safe and all the locks were restored. “Not right now!” The door chime brought her away from her longings and Jocasta turned to face her desk again. “Z?”
“Aye, Captain.”
“Come ahead.”
The doors to her Ready Room opened and Dungias walked inside, carrying a small bag and a silver tray. A very ornate lead-crystal decanter was at the center of the tray with finely crafted shot glasses on either side of it. Jocasta could see a thick, bright yellow liquid inside the decanter and looked up at her Chief Engineer with a silent question on her face.
“To the victor belong the spoils,” Dungias said as he placed the tray down on the desk. The bag he placed on the floor.
“I thought it was ‘go the spoils’, but I get the feeling–”
“William L. Marcy,” Dungias advised. “… a soldier, a teacher, a lawyer, a United States Senator from New York, Governor of the same state, United States Secretary of War, and Secretary of State.”
“We really need to find you a hobby!” Jocasta urged. “And what, pray tell, are these spoils?”
“The latest offering from the arboretum,” Dungias said as he uncorked the decanter and filled the shot glasses. He offered one glass to Jocasta before taking the other for himself. “As it is customary to drink to a successful mission, I thought we would honor that tradition here and now. The chaos engine of life is no doubt refilling its tanks, awaiting its next best opportunity to fire up and create another calamity for us to weather. Our visit into entropy was brief this time, but it was potent! I salute you, Captain!” The two of them drank and while Dungias looked up, methodically cataloging the flavor and texture of the nectar he had collected and fermented, Jocasta’s face lit up and she swallowed, hollering as she pushed away from her desk.
“Good gods, man!” she exclaimed. “My toes just had their first orgasms!”
“Then your feet are virgins no more,” Dungias
returned.
“You can leave that on my shelf along with the glasses,” Jocasta directed as she ran her finger around the inside of the glass, quickly putting the finger in her mouth. She watched as Dungias put the bottle away before looking back at her. “Back to work already?”
“The crew is convening in the Recreations Room,” he advised.
“This sounds juicy,” Jocasta said as she wiggled in her seat. “Good lord, I’m loopy after one shot!”
“You were that before the drink,” Dungias remarked.
“Hey, verbal slashes like that one will only get you loved and cherished around here, mister,” Jocasta said, actually feeling the effects of the drink. “Keep it up and I’ll line up each and every female crewman and order you to seed them.”
“Captain!”
“What?!” Jocasta laughed. “No little ZJ’s running around, giving Auntie JoJo some good target practice? I can see them now, ‘it’s M C squared, not M C square’! And the other screams ‘M C Triangle’ before swinging down and bitch-slapping the other two! Ka-tang!” She continued as Dungias walked over to her shelf and took down the small medical kit. He prepared a dose of general anti-toxin. Jocasta smacked the injector away twice before he jabbed the device into her chest and delivered the antidote. Jocasta closed her eyes for a second and smiled up at Dungias.
“Are you feeling better?”
“If you mean am I able to keep my thoughts from the oral launch-pad, the answer is yes,” Jocasta answered. “But I wasn’t so drunk that I didn’t see you actually get worried at the thought of seeding the female crew. Z, you were practically sweating!”
“Smaller versions of me running around,” Dungias nodded. “You would like to see that?”
“Why not?”
“Because I would be forced to construct an Osamu for each one of them,” Dungias declared.
“Aaaannnnd we’re back to work,” Jocasta said, dropping her smile.
“Would you care to view the meeting?”
“Might I suggest that you start from the beginning?” Satithe inquired.