The Icarus operative - 7. Seven

Civilian Trading Ship Persephone traveling from

Planet Nabï Yünus towards Launchhole U IV

Covenant Year 329

TWENTY NINE DAYS BEFORE THE ARREST

Auriel Bristow was coming from the Engine Room, where Jay had just briefed her on how The Persephone’s core was responding to the recently installed neutrino displacers. It was almost 1400 hours and she hadn’t had time for breakfast that morning. She was already feeling that funny pain in her temples which announced a forthcoming headache. They would be arriving in Launchhole GS IV the following morning and she had to see that everyone was paid before it.

She made a left into a new corridor and found Doctor Rharthza Melaree coming towards her. He sort of smiled, but there was something in his expression which made her anticipate some trouble. Still, Auriel Bristow smiled back.

“Hey there!” she said without stopping.

Rharthza’s direction and pace changed as he started to walk beside her.

“I nee’ to talk to you, Auri, and I nee’ to do it now.”

She nodded, thus signaling him to start, but she didn’t stop her walking nor did she change the pace. Rharthza did not say a word and kept walking beside her.

“Well?” she asked turning her face to see him but walking still, “What is it?”

Rharthza stopped on his tracks and gently pulled her to a stop, placing her with her back to one of the metal walls of the corridor and getting very close to her.

“I nee’ to talk to you,” he said almost in a whisper, as if he were afraid someone would listen, “in private, if you will.”

She looked at him, annoyed at having been stopped on her way. She clenched her jaw for some instants and sort of pushed him aside gently to resume her walking. “I need to go over the books with Swift,” she said, a little edge of anger in her voice, “so, whatever it is, spit it out now.”

Rharthza seemed annoyed as well, but he had known Auriel Bristow for quite a while and he knew she would listen, she always had. Ever since he’d come on board they had become very good friends, and there had been some good years, all right. He stopped on his tracks once again, but this time did not force her to stop.

Auriel Bristow stopped, anyway, three steps ahead of the good Nabïan doctor and turned over her heels. She opened up her arms and then intertwined the fingers of both her hands in a what is it? expression letting him know she was listening and obviously annoyed now.

Rhar tilted his head a bit to a side, tightening his lips as he looked at her. “Auri, please.”

She exhaled heavily, looked at him, rolled her eyes, and then resumed her walking. “Come into my office,” she finally said, “but ten minutes is the best I can do for you.”

“Thanks, Auri,” he said, “ten minutes will be enough.”

They walked in silence to the end of the corridor, then went one deck up an interdeck ladder, and came into a narrow corridor which led to a door, not three steps away from where they had come onto deck. Auriel Bristow pulled a leaver on the left side of the door frame and the door opened to both sides with a strong chirring sound. She made a mental note to ask Jay to check the doors’ mechanisms and oil them every now and then.

They stepped through the door frame and Captain Auriel Bristow sat behind her desk, Rharthza Melaree following her closely. She was glad Swift had still not made it to her office. Rharthza took a chair that had been leaning against a wall and placed it in front of the desk, sitting across from where the Captain was now sitting.

“So … what is this thing you so desperately need to talk to me about?” she started with an almost unnoticeable hint of sarcasm in her tone.

Rharthza Melaree looked at Bristow. He cleared his throat, ‘cause he did not know how to start. But once again, he reminded himself how much he’d shared with her, how long they’d been shipmates and friends. Something inside him told him she would listen to him.

She had to listen to him.

He placed his hands over his knees and started. “Auri,” he swallowed, “it’s this Semyon thing, now ….”

She eyed him, the worried and sad expression in his face, and couldn’t help feeling compassionate. She knew this man, she’d known him for eight years now, and knew exactly what this was all about. It was not that she judged him, she’d known from square one that Rharthza Melaree was a man of very strong sexual appetites, that he was and had always been a one-night-stander and that he made no distinction on the sex of whoever he went to bed with. But what had always encouraged his behavior was the fact that he wouldn’t have had to deal with someone the morning following the fuck. Semyon Zalicker’s being on board had changed the whole picture dramatically for the first time … and that did seem to bother Rharthza.

“What Semyon thing, Rhar?” she asked him.

“You know what I mean,” he said calmly, “don’t make me say ….”

“No, Rhar,” she interrupted him, a serious gesture on her face, “I don’t know what you mean, so you’re gonna have to really spell it out for me.”

“Well, this ….” he started waving his hands as he moved his head to the sides, “His being here on board, your hiring him, his being a member of this crew … it’s … it’s just wrong.”

“Why, I wouldn’t know how or why this might be wrong, Rhar. Can you please explain it to me?”

Rharthza looked at her impatiently, ‘cause he was very sure that she did know what he was talking about. His facial expression changed to one of confusion.

“Does this have to do with the fact that you two got … let’s say … a little bit … bedded?” Bristow asked.

“I don’t think that’s funny, Auri. But yes, as a matter o’fact it does.”

Auri Bristow smiled a bit, feeling amused and at the same time annoyed by how Rharthza’s mind worked. What if he and Semyon had gotten to bed? It had been their decision, a consensual decision, in the first place. And it was not like she had known this trader’s son Merrilyn had talked about hiring would be Rharthza’s Nabïan one night stand.

“Rhar,” she said with that condescending tone he hated so much, “you were involved with Athsari too when she first came on board, and I’ve never known that it bothered you to be on the same ship as hers. Or her, for that matter”

“It’s not the same, Auri,” he retorted, “like hell you know it ain’t.”

“Why, Rhar?” she asked, definitely forcing him to say what he really wanted to say, what she wanted him to say, “Why’s it not the same as with Athsari? I’m lost here. Is it because he’s a man?”

Rharthza banged a fist against the desk with such strength Auriel knew it had to have hurt. “Because I didn’t know he would be with be with us, fuck!” he exploded, “That’s why!”

She did not like being yelled at, he knew that –he had always known that-, and he still had. She was starting to feel angry at him and she was sure it was now noticeable in her expression. She looked at him and could not help saying the first thing that came to mind.

“Well, it seems to me you didn’t give a Theriloxibian’s tail when you were banging him, now did you? Or was it the other way around, him doing the banging?”

Rharthza Melaree shot Auriel Bristow an incredulous look. He couldn’t believe his ears; he couldn’t believe she had just said what she’d just said.

“Now, what’s tha’ supposed to mean?”

“It means what it means, Rhar. You decided to bed him when he was a stranger. He’s come on board by coincidence, you both deal with it. You’re adults, Rhar. It’s not my problem.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this from ya, Auri … y’of all people.”

She leaned back on her chair and looked at him, this time inhaling deeply and measuring the extent of the damage her words would make. Still, she was convinced that he had to face the fact that he’d never given a credit for all the people he’d gone to bed with. And this time he’d have to.

“I’m not judging you, Rhar,” she said, honestly this time, “I never have and I never will. You should know that by now. But the fact is that he’s come on board and I promised his mother I’d look after him as I would any other member of my crew. You’re both adults, you can work it out.”

“I … I feel uncomfortable … He’s after me all the time, y’know? He smiles at me, he gives me this glances like he wants to talk to me ….”

“Well, maybe he does. Have you considered the fact that he might think what you two had was not only a one night stand?”

“So, what am I supposed to do then? Would’ya care to explain?”

Auriel exhaled deeply and rolled her eyes; there was no way in hell he could be that stupid. “Well, Rhar … talk to him.”

“But I have nothing to say to him! At all!” he shouted this time.

“Well you might as well tell him that.” she paused so as to let her words sink in, for she knew he needed to reflect, for this one time, on the consequences of his actions. He needed to understand that facing one’s actions was a step towards maturity, a step he’d never wanted to take.

“Auri, please ….”

“I’m really sorry on this one, Rhar. Semyon Zalicker is not going anywhere, ‘cause he’s a member of my crew now. You’re gonna have to find the way to work it out on your own.”

He stood up and walked to the door. He was mad as a madbull. As he reached the door frame, he turned to face his long time friend and captain, and pointed with his finger at her. “I ain’t forgetting this Auri, all right. You bet I ain’t.”

“Well, that’s too bad for you,” she said looking at him straight in the eye, “because, from where I stand, I can see it will only make you bitter.”

Rharthza looked at her daggers, and walked outside Auriel Bristow’s office at the very moment in which Swift Vince was coming in. She looked at him go away and, angrily, opened up a huge accounting book that had been waiting over her desk as her accountant approached her. She pretended she was going through the figures, but the truth was now she didn’t have a head for it anymore.

“Captain?” Swift began, “I gather this is not a very good moment. Would you like us to meet later?”

Auriel Bristow took a deep breath and looked at Swift standing in front of her. She thought he had very beautiful hazel eyes behind the heavy curtains that were his eyelashes, as he looked at her with honest sympathy.

“It’s ok, Swift,” she said massaging her temples, “we do have to go over the numbers so we can get the payroll ready. Please, have a seat.”

Swift jumped gracefully over the chair in front of the Captain and placed his padnic on the desk. Auriel Bristow had the book already opened.

“So,” she said, “let’s take a close look at the numbers from our last transaction, shall we?”

“Yes, Captain,” said Swift smiling his tender smile, and leaned over the desk to inform the Captain about everything she needed to be informed of. It was meant to be a long afternoon.

****************

JayAodhagán was sure tired as hell. Monitoring on Persephone’s performance inside the crammed Engine Room sure took its toll on him sometimes. He could rest now, of course, for the real next heavy job would be once they got to Launchhole U IV from where they’d jump to the Rivulan System. Once there, he would have to work via intercomm with the Launching Space Traffic Control tower. He came out from the Engine room, his arms mostly greasy, and walked around Persephone, still trying to make up his mind on whether he should go get groomed or join the messhall for lunch before anything else. One thing he was sure of: he was hungry as hell.

His cargo pants, beige at the beginning of his day, now looked a bit grayish, and his white short-sleeved shirt was as messy. He was wearing black suspenders, an item he loved to wear to keep his cargo pants in place, and his ever present cargo boots in black color.

He made a left on the corridor from the Engine Room and crashed against a rather angry Rharthza Melaree. Because of the impact, he was thrown to the floor in a rather funny and unelegant fashion. As he landed on his butt and hit the back of his head against the corridor’s metal wall, he noticed Rharthza’s expression go from utter annoyance to absolute embarrassment. Rharthza Melaree extended his right hand in order to help Jay come back to his feet.

“I’m sorry,” Rharthza said, “I’m so very very sorry, Jay, I did not see ….”

“T’s okay, doc,” Jay Aodhagán interrupted him politely, discreetly rubbing his hurt bottom, “I know you did not see me coming.”

Rharthza placed his hands on Jay’s shoulders. “You sure you’re allright?” he asked, still embarrassed at having thrown the Engineer to the floor.

“Yeah, doc, I am. Don’t worry yourself over me.”

“Let me see that head.”

Before Jay could even protest, Rharthza turned him around and placed his hand over Jay’s head before he could even say no, as any good doctor would do. There was a hint of a swelling that suggested he’d have a bump in less than fifteen minutes.

“You’re gonna have a bump in the back of yer head, allright. But you won’t die on this one.”

“Thanks, doc,” Jay said as he turned to face the doctor once again.

Rharthza noticed that, all through their conversation, Jay Aodhagán had never raised his face to look at the doctor in the eye, and found it curious how he always managed to talk without looking at people straight in the eye. ‘Ain’t the lad truly shy!’ Rhar thought arching an eyebrow, but kept it to himself.

“You might want to drop by the infirmary anyway,” he added jokingly, “I wouldn’t want to be guilty for having spoiled that lovely looking bubble butt o’yours.”

Jay Aodhagán could not look at his own face, but he was sure his white skin had gone red in a fraction of a second at the doctor’s comment, ‘cause he felt the sudden heat of a blush in his face. He blinked repeatedly and tried to say something but he noticed he could just not utter a single word, as if a pin had been placed between his lips and a nail on his brain.

“I was just kidding, Jay.” Rharthza Melaree told Jay noticing his evident discomfort.

“I know … I … I ….” was all he could manage to say.

“See you around.” Rharthza said as he resumed his walking in Jay’s opposite direction. At least he had recovered his good humor after the bad moment he’d had with the Captain.

Jay Aodhagán was still recovering of the shock caused by Rharthza’s comment about his butt, when the doctor turned at the end of the corridor and shouted, “But you do have a lovely looking bubble butt!”

Jay didn’t even turn at the Doctor’s comment this time. He kept walking through the corridor and decided he’d be better off taking a shower before lunch, while the blush vanished from his face; not that it would happen some time within the next century. He did not want to go into the messhall with a blush so evident that might have made his cheeks look like ripe apples.

He walked fast, as if Rharthza’s comment was coming right behind him and he blushed once again; truth was, he was not accustomed to being complimented about his body parts, specially his lower body parts. Did he really have a bubble butt? He didn’t think so. But then again, he hated becoming self aware when somebody talked about his anatomy. He pulled the leaver to his quarters and the doors slid to both sides. He came into his quarters and closed the door. He then leaned on the door and closed his eyes, breathing heavily.

He stood there, just like that, for some time.

He finally opened his eyes and looked at his small quarters. The bed, perfectly made, placed by the corner. The small night table, also clean as hell with an alarm clock on top and a photograph of himself and his mother. On the wall he was facing, there was a huge Atlas of Covenant space, and on the wall to his left there were some movie posters from centuries past perfectly framed.

He exhaled deeply, left his comfortable position by the door and walked towards his bed. Once there, he sat and closed his eyes once again. He took a hand to his forehead, for it was not until then that he realized it was pearled-up with sweat. Of course.

“Great, you moron!” he told himself, “The one time he gives you a compliment and you just run away. Great! Just great!”

He stood from the bed and walked towards the full size mirror Bristow had given him as a nameday present two namedays ago, on the left of his doorframe. He looked at himself; definitely the two hour workouts were paying off. He sort of turned with his back to the mirror, twisting his head so he would be able to look at his back in it.

‘Is it really a bubble butt?’ he thought as he slightly stretched his cargo pants. He suddenly realized he had blushed again as he tried to figure out whether his butt was lovely looking as the Doctor had said, but he couldn’t really come to that conclusion on his own. What if he asked someone? Merrilyn, perhaps? No! Not Merrilyn! What the hell am I thinking?

“Should’ve said something, moron!” he scolded his image in the mirror, “Should’ve said something! He was being nice and you chose the worst time to get tonguetied!”

But truth was he had never been good at being complimented; might’ve been the fact he’d grown in a far out colony, with not many people around to interact with. Not an uncommon thing to happen if your parents were both Engineers and enjoyed installing and supervising terraforming equipment. Most of his life Jay had spent on spaceships; he guessed that was why he’d become so good at working with machines; and that was also why his social skills were close to none. He’d always had a hard time dealing with people and, now that he thought about it, he didn’t really have a friend that he had made along the way.

And then he’d come on board Persephone six standard years ago. Apparently, the former Engineer had lost an arm and a leg in an accident involving a core breach. Jay’d just happened to be around when it happened. Course he’d been just a ‘kid’ back then, barely counting nineteen standards. But he liked machines, and he had always had the feeling that machines liked him too. So, after having fixed ThePersephone’s core’s coolant leak, Captain Auriel Bristow hadn’t hesitated in the slightest to offer him the job. And he hadn’t hesitated in taking it.

And so here he was; some years later, on board The Persephone … as a the ship’s Engineer. It was here that he had felt, for the first time in his life, like he belonged. He enjoyed the company of most of the people, though he usually felt uncomfortable around both Phillip O’Malley and Merrilyn Stewart. Phillip made him uncomfortable ‘cause he was real cold and his size scared the hell out of Jay. Merrilyn, ‘cause she was always being flirtatious and made him feel awkward.

‘But Rharthza Melaree ….’ Well, he did feel weird around the doctor; not bad weird, but nice weird. When Rharthza spoke to him, his pulse and heartbeat accelerated and he had a tendency towards blushing, regardless of what the Doctor said. Today, however, Rharthza had for the first time said a compliment …

‘I wouldn’t want to be guilty for having spoiled that lovely looking bubble butt o’yours.’ he heard in his mind and sort of smiled.

Though, now that he thought about it, he was not sure Doctor Rharthza Melaree had really complimented him or had just been teasing him around. Everyone said the doctor of The Persephone was known for his ability to flirt with everyone at hand. And the Captain had always said so too.

Jay Aodhagán himself knew the doctor had a reputation, and most of the crew was always telling him that Rharthza was quite the Don Juan, whoever Don Juan was, for he had never understood the reference. So, he decided it was better to let go. At least, the blush had gone away from his face and he hadn’t even showered yet. The clock said 1430 hours, so he still had some good twenty minutes to get groomed for lunch.

“What if ….” he asked the mirror, “What if I wear something that could make my bubble butt show a bit more than usual?”

****************

It was about dinnertime and Athsari was done for the day, so she placed her headset on top of her keyboard, stretched lazily and then stood from her piloting chair. Hadzaana looked at her and smiled.

“Ready to take a break?” the First Hand of the Persephone asked.

“You bet!” she said, “I would be worried, but I know you’re as good a pilot as I am, so the change of shifts is more than welcome.”

“You flatter me, Athsari,” Hadzaana said, “Because there’s no pilot as good as you. I will manage while you rest, though.”

“I know you will. Our ETA in Lauchhole GS IV is 0700 hours, so I’ll be relieving you around 0600.”

“Honey, you’re just finishing your shift and already thinking about the next one. Go have dinner and relax, okay? I’ll take good care of the helm in your absence.”

“Okay, Hadz,” she said and smiled. She yawned slightly and just in the middle of it, she heard someone coughing. She turned around, to find Arthur Ahmose looking at her through the bridge door, looking pretty much like a lost child. He was indeed charming, even with his helpless look. Or maybe because of it?

“Need something?” Hadzaana Missdon asked and he seemed to come out from within his own mind.

“Excuse me, Ma’am,” he said, his voice soothing as he looked at her with his dreamy eyes, “I think I’ve gotten so lost in this maze of corridors.”

“Oh?”

“I’m sorry,” he said, taking his right hand to his chest, and slightly bowing, “I must have taken a wrong turn, and I do not know how I ended up here.”

“So,” Athsari said, bringing her wavy black hair back by tilting her head, “where exactly did you want to go?”

“I was looking for the garden,” he said, all composure and good manners in his cream-colored suit, “I’ve been told it is an awesome space in the ship.”

Athsari Rodriguez smiled at the veiled invitation, for she immediately noticed that Arthur Ahmose was flirting with her, even if it was in his innocent gentleman style.

“Athsari,” Hadzaana said, “would you be so kind as to show our guest to the Garden?”

“Okay,” she said, “follow me this way, Mr. Ahmose.”

Arthur Ahmose smiled, and Athsari noticed he had perfect teeth, which matched perfectly with his thin but full lips. She wondered if he was aware of how handsome he was, with his straight nose and his puppy eyes.

They started walking outside the bridge and on their way to the Garden

“Please,” he said, “just call me Arthur.”

“Then,” she said, “You’ll have to stop calling me Ma’am, to start calling me Athsari.”

“Deal,” he said, offering her his arm, which she took and both started walking towards the garden.

They walked the corridor slowly, and headed towards an interdeck ladder at the end of it. They went up the ladder and started on the new corridor to the left. As they walked, the young Mexican pilot couldn’t help but noticing Arthur’s scent, a combination of fine soap and a very sweet yet masculine perfume.

“So,” she said as they strolled, “what do you do for a living?”

Arthur Ahmose turned his head slightly, to meet her eyes, and responded smiling, “Well, I run my uncle’s business, invest some of my money, I take care of Sasha … not much, really.”

“It seems to me like life’s been good to you, now, hasn’t it?”

“I can’t complain,” Arthur replied, “but I’ve wondered many times what it would be like to lead a more interesting life.”

“How so?” she asked as they came to the door of the garden, on the upper level of The Persephone.

“Don’t know,” said Arthur, “I’ve always wanted to travel, see places,” he then stopped talking, as if weighing his own words, and continued, “I’d like a little bit more of adventure for myself.”

“Well, this is it,” Athsari said as she released his arm and they entered the garden.

The place was beautiful, ‘cause there was a plasteel dome overlooking the garden, from where the sky could be seen. The room was circular, and there was a wide variety of plantlife from different places within the Galaxy. There were a couple of benches scattered through the room. Arthur Ahmose stood in amazement at the place, so caught up with the sight that Athsari had to politely cough, so as to bring him back.

“Oh,” he said, “excuse me, it’s just so beautiful.”

“I know,” she said, “well, here you are, so, I’m gonna get underway ….”

“Do you really have to? I mean … I’d certainly appreciate some company ….”

Athsari smiled as she looked at him, ‘cause she couldn’t help it. She didn’t know what to make of it, but now she knew he was most definitely flirting with her. The question was: did she want to get in the game with this man who would more likely disappear from her life as soon as they reached Phinara II?

“I have some stuff to do right now,” she said, “how about tomorrow? We could meet here, now that you know the way.”

“That sounds great,” Arthur said and smiled at Athsari, who smiled back and then left the man alone in the garden.

****************

Itwas almost nineteen hundred hours by the time Semyon Zalicker had finished his chores. He was beaten, that was a fact, but he felt happy. He entered the cleaning supply room and dropped the towel he’d been using to dust around the halls on a counter. He took off the silly white hat Nikk Berzamo had given him, similar to the one Nikk wore himself and placed it next to the towel.

“Done, sir.” He told Nikk, who happened to be standing in front of him, also placing his stuff in the cleaning closet of ThePersephone’s supply room.

“Good!” Nikk told him, his branchiae opening and closing in agitation, and padded him on the back, “we’re done for the day now. Go relax for a while.”

“Thank you, sir.” Semyon said and started walking towards the exit of the supply room.

“Hey, heedlokp ….” Nikk called.

Semyon turned back and looked at Nikk askance.

“Don’t go siring me around, O.K.? Just call me Nikk … just Nikk, all right?”

“Ok … Nikk.” Semyon said.

“Semyon?”

“Yes Nikk?”

“I’ll be expecting you at 0530 hours in the morning.”

“I’ll be here at that time, Nikk.”

“See you at dinnertime.”

Semyon Zalicker smiled and nodded. He didn’t know what heedlokp meant, but he did not want to seem stupid asking, so he let it go. He walked outside the room, strolled through a corridor, went two decks down using the interdeck ladders, and then walked to the end of the corridor. He came exactly in front of the door to his quarters. He pulled the leaver on the left side of the door frame and the door slid to both sides. He came into his room and closed the door with a similar leaver, which was on the right of the frame on the inside. He locked the door and fell onto his bed.

He’d been on board for barely two days, and he felt tired as hell; but he felt grateful at both Merrilyn Stewart and Auriel Bristow for having given him the chance to prove himself useful. And he had to admit that he also liked Nikk Berzamo well enough; under his somber and always grumpy façade, Semyon had found out Nikk was a man of a great heart.

Everyone so far had been so very nice to him, but something bothered him; it had nothing to do with either his job or his chores, though. Ever since he’d come on board he had been avoiding thinking about it, but the source of his true annoyance was Rharthza Melaree, The Persephone’s doctor. They had got bedded before either of them knew Semyon would be hired on the same starship, all right, and it had been good sex too. So, he didn’t really understand why Rharthza had been avoiding him all along since he’d come on board. ‘Cause it was more than obvious he had been.

He threw himself onto the bed, took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Eyes closed, arms behind his head, he thought of Rharthza Melaree. He couldn’t help remembering that night in his arms. He remembered how he’d been that night, both savage and tender, as if it was the last time he’d ever have sex. He remembered his smell, that smell of man sweat and cheap cologne, mixed with a little hint of antiseptic and the smell of Nabïan beer.

‘Damn him!’ he thought as he lay in bed, ‘Why can’t he just talk to me? He’d be surprised of what I would say to him. He’d be suprised to find out I’m not the kid he thinks I am.’

But it was no good thinking about it. Then again, what if he went to him? What if he approached him and asked him straight to the head what the problem was? No, he couldn’t do that. He was no beggar and he would not beg for Rharthza Melaree’s attention. He knew better than that. Truth, he was only nineteen standards, but he’d had his share of lovers already.

Rharthza had been great in bed, but he did hate that he hadn’t even bothered talking to him since he’d come on board. Semyon had not expected this to become a permanent honeymoon, but he had expected, at least, to have had a friendly relationship with Rharthza as a crewmate; after all, they’d be seeing each other rather often, for Rharthza would not be able to hide from him forever.

What if Rharthza was scared? Was that a possibility? He almost automatically discarded that idea. Why would a man near his forty standards would be scared of a youngster? Anyway, Semyon felt he deserved better, he knew he did; he did not deserve to be treated that way by Rharthza, no matter how much a doctor he was or how old and experienced. No, he would not come to Rharthza if he did not come to him first, and that was a fact.

‘I ain’t coming to you, Tiger,’ he tought, convincing himself he wouldn’t do it, ‘You want a piece o’this, you’re gonna have to work for it too!’

He stood from the bed and started undressing, he had to take a shower still and dinner was to be served at twenty hundred hours that night. He looked at the alarm clock Nikk Berzamo had given him ‘so he’d always be on time for duty’; it displayed 1930 standard hour in orange numbers.

As he undressed, he piled his clothes on the back of the small wooden chair his quarters had been provided with. The room was small, four square meters all in all, plus a removable wall which led to a rather small restroom/shower. He leaned and removed his underwear and then he walked to the shower room. As he entered the shower, he realized his legs were shaking a little and so were his arms.

“You’ll get used to the extra exercise.” he told himself. He felt tired, all right, but the hot water –a luxury he hadn’t enjoyed in his homeplanet- helped him relax his body.

He took his time, for he wanted to really take advantage of the first hot shower he’d ever had in his life. He decided he was done thinking about Rharthza Melaree; he would devote his time to his job. He might even try and learn something, a language, an artcraft, something. Rharthza Melaree would sooner or later come around. And if he didn’t? Well, If he didn’t, he would be the one to miss one hell of a lover.

‘That’ll be your loss, Tiger.’ he thought as he washed his body with the compact lavender soap bar Nikk had provided him with upon his arrival ‘It sure ain’t gonna be mine.’

****************

Mostof the crew of the Persephone was already in the messhall when Jay Aodhagán came in. Sasha and Arthur Ahmose were chatting with Merrilyn Stewart in one of the small tables. Nikk, Semyon, Swift, Athsari and Auriel were sitting in the big table. The only one who was sitting alone and apparently not enjoying himself was Rharthza Melaree. Jay walked towards the big table saying hello to everyone.

“Hey, Jay,” the captain spoke waving a hand at him, “Care to join us?”

Rharthza Melaree, who had been looking at his meal intently and, apparently, fighting with it, looked up from his dish and saw Jay saying hello to the crew. Damn, he looked good! He could not believe his eyes, but Jay was wearing a pair of tight beige pants that made his butt look as yummy as it could have looked. He did not know why, but he felt like he automatically lost his apetite … for food.

“Hey, Jay!” he called from his table.

Jay Aodhagán turned from the big table and looked at Rharthza. He waved a hand to the doctor as in greeting and then Rhar invited him to his table with a hand gesture.

“Be right back, guys,” Jay said without looking at anyone in particular, “I’ll go say hello to the Doc.”

Jay walked towards the table where the Doctor had been alone, and the chitchat continued around the table as everyone had dinner. The only one who seemed distracted was Athsari, whose eyes were following Jay all the way to Rharthza’s table.

‘Could it be?’ She thought as Jay sat down with Rharthza, ‘No, I don’t think so’. Even if she tried she couldn’t picture Rharthza and Jay together, and not because she cared, because she didn’t … well, maybe a little. However, Jay was young, and shy and tender; he deserved better than to end up with someone whose only true love was himself.

On the other hand, she found herself looking at the other small table, where Arthur and Sasha laughed apparently enjoying Merrilyn’s talk. She couldn’t stop thinking that tomorrow she was meeting Arthur Ahmose at the garden, as she had promised, and realized she’d been thinking about it all day long; what to wear, how to act … she didn’t even know whether she was interested, but her inner voice told her she was, or she wouldn’t be observing him as he had dinner.

“Right, Athsari?” Swift asked.

Athsari turned and smiled, but she had no freaking idea what her crewmate was asking her. Suddenly, all eyes fell on her and she could do nothing but ask the accountant to repeat his question, showing her stupidest grin. Everybody burst into laughter at her, and she could do nothing but shrug.

“S’up, Doc?” Jay greeted Rharthza, and the Doctor gestured him to a chair across from him.

“So, how are you doing?” Rharthza Melaree asked with a mouthfull of whatever it was he was chewing.

“Fine, Doc,” Jay said as he sat down, “just coming from a second round of monitoring the warp and impulse engines.”

“Quite the nightmare, I guess.”

“You bet. It never gets any easier … but then again, it doesn’t really have to be … easier, y’know. T’sall technicalities and stuff. And I usually get a headache trying to … well, you probably don’t care to hear about that stuff anyway.”

Merrilyn Stewart left the Ahmoses as soon as she saw that Jay had sat down, and stood up in a flirtatious mood looking at Jay straight in the eye. “So, what are you gonna have for dinner, Jay?” she asked all smiles and blinks.

“Whatever it is you’re serving, Merr. And a lemon tea, please.” he replied and turned his attention back to Rharthza.

Merrilyn went on her way to the kitchen leaving the Doctor and the Engineer alone. Rharthza gulped impolitely from the mug of Edenian plum liquor he had asked for, and then he placed the mug back on the table.

Merrilyn chose that specific moment to come back from the kitchen holding a tray with Jay’s food. The dish had been beautifully arranged and Rharthza thought that this portion was bigger than his had been, but he said nothing about it. Merrilyn placed Jay’s dish in front of him, a glass of lemon tea and a little bowl of soup.

“There you go,” she said, “Steak ala Stewart with chopped onions and tomatoes, and steamed carrots as a side dish. And of course, your lemon tea.”

“Thanks, Merr.”

Noticing he was not really paying any attention to her, Merrilyn Stewart decided to go leave her tray back to the kitchen, and retake her conversation with the Ahmoses. Once she’d left, Rharthza Melaree gulped from his plum liquor again and wiped his mouth with the fabric napkin.

“I can see your butt did not get spoiled over that fall.” he said picking up the joke where he had left it before.

Jay automatically lowered his sight towards his dish, and blushed. “No … just ....”

“No need to blush, kiddo,” Rhar said leaning both his arms on the table, “Y’know I’m kidding, right?”

“Yeah,” Jay said, his eyes still on his dish, “I do … I mean, I know ….”

Rharthza could do nothing but smile at Jay’s inadequacy for social interaction. Somehow, he thought that made the engineer still more interesting than he’d originally thought. There was no denying, of course, that Jay was cute; but somehow his shyness made him cuter in Rharthza’s eyes.

“You wanna know what I think?” Rharthza continued between chews, “That the pair of pants you’re wearing today looks awesome on you. Frames your butt in a nicer way.”

“Thanks,” Jay replied, now completely red as the tomatoes on his plate.

He wanted to say something, but he just didn’t know what to say, so he kept on eating and drinking at intervals from his dark lemon tea. Rharthza, on the other hand, kept talking and mumbling this and that while he chewed and drank impolitely. As he did so, he kept admiring Jay’s beauty; his green-hazel eyes, his undone wavy light blond hair, the thin and pink lips, and the lovely blush in his cheeks.

While admiring Jay, he became aware of a stare, like when you feel someone is watching you intently. He looked back at the big table and Semyon Zalicker turned his sight back to the conversation, but Rharthza knew it had been him who’d been staring. He decided to ignore him, but something in Semyon’s eyes made him suddenly feel utterly miserable. He gulped the last of his plum liquor and wiped his mouth with the napkin once more.

“Well,” he said standing up from his chair and lifting his tray, “I’m gonna go attend some other business. It was good having dinner with you.”

“Same here, Doc,” Jay answered forcing himself to look at Rharthza in the eye.

“Let’s do it some other time,” Rharthza said smiling at the engineer, “Have dinner together that is.”

Jay Aodhagán blushed at the innuendo and smiled, this time holding his eyes on Rharza’s. “I think I’d like that very much,” was all he said.

Rharthza Melaree smiled and blinked at Jay, motioning towards the window between the messhall and kitchen so as to leave his tray. Jay followed him with his sight and then went back to his food, not separating his sight from it for the rest of the meal. Rhar had already left the messhall by the time he finished.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Athsari told her companions in the big table, “but, was Rharthza Melaree hitting on Jay?”

Auriel Bristow looked in Athsari’s direction, very aware of Semyon’s presence on the table. If there was something she hated, was being in the middle of a cold war between lovers; and the pilot’s comment had definitely made Semyon uncomfortable, if she knew how to read people. And she damned well knew how to do so; it was an ability that she’d developed over the years, and one that truly came in handy as both a trader and a Captain.

“Don’t think so,” Auriel said, “I think he just needed someone to talk to. You know he’s been pretty isolated as of late.”

Semyon looked at the captain for reassurance, but the only thing she managed to do was grin at him. She did not think he was suffering, but it was clear he was absolutely disconcerted regarding Rharthza’s silent treatment since his coming on board after their little bed story. It was really understandable. And it was so like Rharthza to just not say anything at all.

“Well, I’m glad,” Athsari added crossing her arms over the table, “Rhar is not known for his ability to maintain relationships. Jay on the other hand, is such a nice guy ….”

“Why are you guys assuming things on these two?” Phillip interrupted, which he almost never did, “We don’t even know whether Jay likes meat pistols, now, do we?”

Athsari rolled her eyes turning to Phillip as she hit him. “Phillip, we do not need to hear your whorehouse analogies during dinnertime.”

“Just saying we don’t.” he said and grabbed the spoon to keep on eating.

“He does have a point, though,” Nikk added, “we know very little regarding Jay … As a matter of fact, I think I’ve never known of him dating anyone before.”

“Well, it’s not like there’s lots of choices being on a ship 24/7 now, is it?” Swift volunteered.

“True.” Athsari said, “But if he was into guys, Rhar would be just the lousiest of choices.”

Semyon Zalicker stood up from the table and picked up his tray. “Excuse me,” he said trying to sound as polite as he could manage. He walked towards the window, left his tray and walked outside the messhall.

“I wonder what that was all about.” Athsari said looking towards the exit of the messhall and back to the table.

“I’ll tell you what it was all about,” Phillip said with a mouthful of whatever it was he was eating, “none of your business.”

“Come on, everyone,” Auriel Bristow said cleaning her mouth with the napkin, “knock it off. I think we should go back to sleep now; we have an early start tomorrow morning with our arrival in Launchhole U IV. And I bet all of us have tons of things to do, rather than discussing Rharthza’s choice of lovers over dinner.”

And saying so, she stood from the table and walked outside the messhall. The ones still at the table looked at each other and decided it was a great idea to follow her example. In the end, there was only Phillip and Nikk on the table; Phillip, finishing his meal, and Nikk apparently lost in thought. They all would have an early morning and it was better to have a good night’s sleep.