“Lois isn’t done with you?” Francis asked.
“If that’s what Sarah thinks, who am I to argue?”
“Well, at least we know what we’re having for dinner tomorrow,” he said.
Diane and Brill just looked sad. I turned to Brill and asked, “Are you going out tonight, too?”
She just shook her head. “After Dunsany, I’m still a little raw.”
Diane and I both burst out laughing. Francis looked confused. When Brill’s brain finally caught up with what her mouth had said she just groaned and hung her head, but she was smiling.
I looked at Francis, “And you? Big plans?”
He shook his head, “I used up all my big plans days ago. I just want a good night’s sleep and to shake this system off my shoes. I wanna be moving again.”
We all finished our dinners. The spicy beefalo was spectacular and I savored every morsel. As certain as I was that the ship would not leave without me, I could not ignore the reality that I might be sitting on the orbital watching them go. There was a lesson for me there. As sure as I was, it was all out of my control. I chuckled at the idea that I had ever thought anything else.
When we broke up, Diane headed back to environmental, Brill headed for her bunk, and Francis headed for the sauna. Brill looked over her shoulder at me as she left. “See you at breakfast,” she said, and stepped out into the passage. I sighed, wishing it could be breakfast in bed. I caught Pip’s eye in the galley and pointed down mouthing the word “berthing” and he nodded.
It was time to get ready. I wondered idly if the Alistair tag team were going to be out.
By 20:30, Pip and I checked out with Rhon at the gangway.
“You are coming back, aren’t you?” she asked uncertainly.
“You bet your bee,” I told her.
She grinned. “I’ll hold you to that.”
As we crossed the dock and headed for the lift, Pip asked, “Bee?”
“Yeah, she has a little honey bee tattoo.”
“Really?” he said. “I’ve never seen it.”
“You’ve never had gangway watch,” I commented dryly.
“Was seeing the tattoo worth the watch standing?” he asked.
“No,” I admitted, “but it did liven up the night a bit.”
“Were is it?”
“About six inches down from her navel.”
“But that’s—”
“You see some interesting things struggling back aboard at 03:00,” I observed. “Now where are we going?”
“Head for the oh-two deck.”
We didn’t go to Infinity as I expected. Pip took me to a little bar to starboard. It was about a quarter of the way around the station almost as far from Infinity as you could go without approaching it from the other side. Compared to the club’s big, raucous cavern, the pub was a cozy place. Padded booths lined the walls and several tables filled in the floor. The bar stood as an island in the middle and you could walk all the way around it. In the far corner a trio of musicians fiddled with instruments but the sound checks were subdued and there was no dance floor. Small groups were scattered about, mostly in the booths but some gathered around tables.
We walked in and Pip picked a table to the side where we could watch the people coming and going. When the waitress came over, I almost didn’t recognize that she was the same one from Infinity but without the cut down ship suit. She greeted Pip by name and offered to get him “the usual” so I figured he’d been here a few times.
Pip turned to me and said, “They brew their own beer here. The chocolate stout is good and they have a very nice ice beer that’ll kick your ass.”
I asked the waitress, “What’s your favorite?”
“I like the amber bock,” she said.
“I’ll take that, then, please.”
We settled in and I turned to Pip. “This doesn’t seem like the kind of place I’d expect to find the tag team.”
“They introduced me,” he said. “Just because they’re hedonistic perverts doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate a nice pub.”
“They introduced you?” I asked.
“Sure. What do you think they do in the booths?”
That startled me so much I twisted my head. I didn’t notice any kind of lewd behavior going on when we came in, but I certainly didn’t want to miss out.
“Made ya look,” Pip said.
We were still chuckling when the waitress brought the beers. I paid and told Pip he’d need to get the next round.
The bock was good and Pip was admiring his beer when the tag team showed up. Pip rose and kissed each soundly before holding their chairs.
“Katie, Janette, this is my friend, Ishmael Wang,” Pip did the introductions.
“I recognize you,” Janette said. “You were at the table that night on Dunsany.”
“That’s me.”
“You were the perfect straight man. Thanks.”
I raised my glass in toast and we ordered them beers when the waitress came back. The jazz trio started playing but the music served as a pleasant accompaniment and not a wall of sound. The tag team really were delightful women. Katie had a warm smile and an innocent face that belied the wickedly sexual sense of humor beneath. Janette was the devil-may-care one. She was completely not self-conscious. I could see why Pip found them so fascinating—other than the obvious attraction of being called upon to sacrifice himself upon the altar of their bodies.
We had a couple of rounds and it was obvious that they wanted to take Pip back for one last night of fun before they headed out. The Alistair was getting underway before the Lois, so they were short on time. It was equally obvious that they did not know what to do with me. Pip seemed to think I would be going along for the ride, as it were, but I didn’t think the tag team was comfortable with that idea.
After almost half a stan of dithering without actually coming out with it, I turned to Katie and said, “You girls better take him back and get what good you can out of him. He’s not going to be worth squat tomorrow if you don’t.” I winked at her and gave her a little head nod.
Pip turned to me, a frown of concern on his face. “I thought we were going to have a boy’s night out.”
“Pip, you moron, I got burned out by the Maguire twins when I was sixteen. Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you on the ship in the morning.”
Katie gave me a kiss on the cheek and said, “We won’t hurt him too much.” They led him out of the pub and turned toward the lift.
I still had half my beer and it was good. The trio was in the middle of a set and I had no place I needed to be, so I settled down to enjoy both of them.
About the time the trio was wrapping their last number and my beer was getting down to the foam in the glass, the waitress brought me another one and pointed to a lady at the bar. I raised the glass in a toast and she raised hers in return. I smiled when I realized that the other woman on the far side of her was egging her on, and I suspected she was being dared. I sat back to see how it would turn out. After a few ticks she stood and came over to my table.
She wasn’t gorgeous, but she was quite cute, perhaps in her mid twenties. I couldn’t get a read on the group she was with, but she was definitely a spacer. I stood and held a chair for her, positioning it so she couldn’t see her friends giggling at her discomfort without looking over her shoulder.
“Thanks for the beer,” I said. “My name is Ishmael.” I stuck out my hand.
“Wendy,” she said. She shook the hand with just the tips of her fingers.
I sat where I could look over her shoulder and see her friends but still see her face. “So, they’re giving you a hard time, eh?” I said, hiding my mouth in the top of the glass.
She giggled. “A bit—they think I’m the shy one.”
“And are you?”
She shrugged one-shoulder and said, “Yeah, a little I guess.” She looked into her glass.
“What ship?”
“Anson Phelps. You?”
&nb
sp; “Lois McKendrick. What do they think you should do?”
“They were hassling me earlier about being too picky. So when we came in, and you were sitting here with your friends, I said something like, ‘he’s cute, too bad he’s already with somebody.’ I figured having shown an interest they would leave me alone.”
I laughed. “Then Pip and his friends took off and I’m here alone so they think you should make a pass at me?”
“Something like that.”
“I’m flattered,” I told her with a grin.
“Flattered?”
“That you thought I was cute enough to make a pass at,” I paused and gave her a little flirty look that I knew her friends could see because they were doing that hand to the face, peek through the fingers, I’m-not-really-looking thing in our direction. “You do think so? It wasn’t just something you said to shut them up?” I leaned forward a little.
“Oh, yes,” she said, her eyes flitting up from her drink to look at me in small glances. “I spotted you when we walked through the door.”
“Tell me, Wendy,” I said, leaning in a little more. “Do you get more points if I kiss you, or if you kiss me?”
“What?”
“Somebody here is gonna get kissed and I just wanna make sure you get the credit for it with the peanut gallery at the bar.”
She looked at me straight on for the first time since she’d come over and I smiled.
“Would you mind terribly,” she asked, “if I kissed you first?”
“Be gentle with me, Wendy,” I told her and tilted my head so the audience would get a good look when she closed in.
She paused about half way to me.
I looked her dead in the eyes and said, “Please be thorough. I hate being just half-kissed.”
She leaned into me then and did a very thorough job of it indeed.
After quite a long time, she pulled back a bit and asked, “Was that thorough enough?”
“Well, your friends got quite a charge out of it, but not half as much as I did,” I told her after I caught my breath again. “Do you suppose you might do that one more time, just to see if you like it?”
“Hmm,” she said, finally relaxing, “Yes, I suppose I might. In the interests of research.”
It was actually quite a long time before I caught my breath. “Damn, you’re good,” I told her.
“You’re just saying that,” she said.
“No, I wouldn’t do that to you,” I told her.
“Not even if you thought it would get you anywhere?”
“Where would I need it to get me?” I asked.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she teased. “Maybe into my bed?”
“Well,” I said, leaning in and whispering, “do you want me in your bed?”
She just brushed her lips across mine and said, “Bed, hell, if you don’t take me out of here right now, that table will have to do.” As soon as the words left her mouth, the did-I-say-that-out-loud look flashed across her face.
So I kissed her firmly and said, “Your place or mine?”
“Do you have a place?” she asked.
“No, but I can get one.”
“Mine,” she said, “I’m not waiting that long for yours.”
“My gracious, I do believe I may not be safe with you.”
“I won’t hurt you,” she paused, “unless you ask very, very nicely.” She giggled and added, “I’m sorry, but I’ve always wanted to say that.”
“Well hold that thought and let’s go say it where your friends can hear.”
She laughed and started to balk, but I stood and helped her to her feet. I held out my arm so she could hang on to it. She led me to her friends, who were now giggling almost non-stop among themselves. At last one noticed our approach and said, “She’s not going to bring him over here, is she?” The girl who spoke had pure panic on her face and I don’t believe she knew I could hear her.
As we approached, Wendy said, “Girls, this is Ishmael. Ishmael, my shipmates. I won’t bother with their names because when I’m done with you, you won’t remember your own.”
They gasped and tittered as she kissed me solidly again.
“Am I going to be safe with you?” I asked.
“No,” she said, “but I won’t hurt you unless you ask very, very nicely.” Then she took my lower lip in her teeth and just let them scrape gently across.
I swallowed hard and said, “That sounds fair enough.”
We turned as a pair and she led me out of the bar. “Don’t wait up, girls. I’m going to be a while,” she called over her shoulder.
She strutted proudly until we got around the corner and out of sight and then collapsed against the bulkhead as her legs gave way from the uncontrollable laughter.
“You know you left them gaping after us? I’ll bet they’re still sitting there with their mouths hanging open.”
We were both laughing now. As we got closer to the lift, she said, “Thank you, Ishmael.”
“For what?”
“For putting on such a good act. You made my reputation in there.”
I stopped in the middle of the corridor and turned to her. “What act?” I asked with my lips just a centimeter from hers. “Do you want to go back and use the table?” I waited to see what she would do.
She kissed me very nicely. “After due consideration, I think the bed might be more comfortable for you.”
“Have I mentioned how much I admire a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to demand it?” I asked with a grin.
“Well, right now, mister, I want you to get on that lift. When I get you to my room, I’ll see what else I think of.”
Several hours and at least three different instances of “I’ve always wanted to try that” later, we both collapsed in a pile of sweaty sheets, giggling like kids. When we stopped laughing, she looked up at me and asked, “When do you have to be back?”
“I have to be aboard by 08:30. You?”
“Not till noon,” she said.
We both looked at the chrono, 03:15.
“Do you want me to leave so you can sleep?” I asked.
“Actually, I was kinda hoping you’d stay and sleep a little with me.”
I rolled over and pulled my tablet out of my jacket, set the alarm, and put it down where I could grab it easily, before punching the light controller and pulling the blankets around us.
“What time did you set it for?” she asked, already beginning to drift away as she snuggled into me.
“06:00. That should give us enough time to go around again before I leave—if you’re interested that is.”
She giggled sleepily and said, “Good.” Then she nodded off.
Chapter Sixteen
Betrus Orbital
2352-June-18
Wendy kicked me out of the room at 07:45. “With you around, I’m impossible. I’m not going to stop grinning for a week,” she said, wearing only a smile and a sheen of sweat as she kissed me goodbye at the door. “Get,” she said, and slammed the door in my face. I could hear her giggling behind it. I had time for a quick shower and fresh shipsuit before I met with the captain to find out what was happening so I headed for the ship.
Fong was on watch when I went through the lock. He blinked when I came in. “You musta had quite a party if you’re just coming in now,” he said with a smirk.
“Yes I did. Now I get to find out what the captain has cooked up.”
“Good luck, Ishmael. I think everybody on the ship is rooting for you.”
“Thanks, Fong, I expect I’ll be around awhile longer. I just don’t know in what capacity.” I waved as I headed into the ship and, in spite of my brave words, hoped it wasn’t the last time I would be coming aboard.
Sally Green was in her bunk and saw me come into the berthing area. “Woo hoo, look at you. Just dragging yer tomcatty butt back in now?”
“Dragging is the operative word there, I think,” I told her with a wink.
I got cleaned up and into
a shipsuit just in time. My tablet bipped at 08:45 with my summons to the captain’s cabin as I zipped into a fresh shipsuit.
“Good luck, Ish,” Sally called.
“Thanks, Sal.” I gave her a little salute on the way out.
The captain had all the usual participants with her at the table, along with Mr. von Ickles who sat to the left of Mr. Maxwell.
“Thank you, Mr. Wang,” the captain began as soon as I braced to attention. “I know this has been a difficult time for you, but in spite of that, you have performed your duties with your customary professionalism and grace.”
“Thank you, Captain,” I said after the pause.
“We’ve been waiting for a message from home office that authorizes us to create a new position. In light of the critical failures which we encountered coming into Betrus, the senior officers submitted a petition to create an assistant position in systems and communication to aid Mr. von Ickles in his duties. That authorization arrived at 08:30. In light of your contributions to the resolution of our systems failures, we are prepared to offer you that job. The position is a spec two systems slot, reporting to Mr. von Ickles. It pays scale for spec two, and carries the customary full share and mass allotment. What say you, Mr. Wang?”
“I say, yes, Captain. I would consider it an honor.”
“Mr. von Ickles?” she said.
“Yes, Captain?”
“Find us that flaw before somebody loses a ship.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
Mr. von Ickles ushered me out of the cabin and we headed for the bridge. “Rather anticlimactic, wasn’t it?” he asked.
“Not from where I was standing, sar.”
He grinned at me. “Were you worried, Ish?”
“I knew you were all working hard on something and I knew that if anybody could pull it off, the officers of the Lois would. But, yeah, I was worried that it just might not have been possible at all. There had to be some doubt as to whether or not it would fly because we’ve been waiting all this time.”
“Good analysis,” he said. “Just between you and me? I was sweating bullets.”
“It’s behind us now and I am very pleased to be working with you, sar.”