Chapter 12
Jason was the first to arrive at the rock outcropping. Easily three hundred feet in diameter, he’d shifted to an open clearing close to the middle of the site. He was unprepared for the untouched natural beauty of the place. Behind him the sheer rock face continued up another five hundred feet to the top of the cliff. A waterfall fell into an azure pool, causing a mist to rise and eventually dissipate in the warm air above. Looking straight out, away from the cliff face, Jason saw a small forest of trees—several precariously angled out over the far edge of the rocky ledge. Rizzo was the next to appear; then, one by one, everyone else arrived.
The rhino warriors spent little time goggling over their new surroundings, preferring to get right to work preparing the campsite. Multiple tent-like enclosures, called Retractable Camp Modules, or RCMs, unfolded from small, paperback book-sized contraptions in mere seconds. A fire was built and soon shish-kabob skewers were sizzling over the open fire. Traveler had informed Jason that rhino warriors required much nourishment, primarily meat—and they needed to eat often. They’d brought along provisions but had made it clear they would hunt and eat from the land itself in HAB 12. Subsequently, four of the rhino warriors had arrived from below carrying expertly butchered Serapin carcasses. The meat was carved and prepared with spices and rubs that they’d brought with them.
Jason could not imagine a more secure site. Just the same, he would not be taken off-guard again. With the exception of Dira and Ricket, a revolving sentry duty of two rhino-beasts and two SEALs was instigated. As darkness fell over the camp, the team took up seats, mostly tree stumps and rocks, around the fire. The rhino-beasts shared their Serapin kabobs and, to Jason’s surprise, the meat was succulent and full of flavor. Sitting next to Billy, who tore chunks of meat off with his teeth, a phrase came to mind—to be consumed by his conquerors.
Rizzo broke the silence. “Hey, Cap, any chance we can hit that pool before we head out tomorrow?” he asked, looking over to Billy to see if he too was open to the prospect.
Jason looked over at Billy; the smoke from his cigar hung in the still night air.
“Only if we make it quick. We’ll take a few minutes in the morning, but then we have to double-time it to make up for time lost. Truth is, we could probably all use a bath.”
On the other side of the fire, Dira and Morgan sat shoulder-to-shoulder deep in conversation. Jason had purposely avoided any eye contact with her, still embarrassed from his early morning scrutiny. What was he thinking, anyway? If Alliance regulations were anything like those of the Navy, there were strict rules about fraternization between officers and NCOs. His schoolboy crush would need to stay just that: a crush—and a secret one at that. Looking away from Dira, Jason saw Billy staring at him. He smiled and shook his head. Shit.
“What are you working on over there, Gunny?” Jason asked, seeing Orion entering something on her virtual tablet.
“I’m reconfiguring our HUD weapon interfaces,” she said, looking up. “What happened today, the multi-guns not being properly set. I thought we’d have time. I wanted to show everyone how to configure the menus.” Orion abruptly stopped talking. Her eyes welled-up with tears and she started to shake. Billy got up and sat down beside her. He reached an arm around her shoulder, but she pushed it away. He tried again, and this time she didn’t fight it. She turned and cried into his shoulder for what seemed a long time.
Jason was quiet, and then said, “You know, this is new for all of us. We’re all winging it as best we can. No one’s blaming you, Gunny. Without those amazing guns, we would not have survived today.”
She nodded, her face still buried into Billy’s shoulder. Jason looked away to the star-filled horizon. As the last vestiges of light slipped away, his eyes focused on a red planet, a planet with Saturn-like rings. It looked close enough to touch.
“I believe that planet is called Evam,” a voice nearby said.
Jason turned, seeing Ricket had taken the rock where Billy previously sat.
“The name fits, ” Jason replied, keeping his eyes on the magnificent view.
Jason looked over to the mechanized alien, wondering just how much Ricket was analytical and machinelike, and how much an actual sentient, feeling being. Still irritated at Ricket’s previous actions, Jason stood. All eyes followed him. “It’s my turn to take watch.”
* * *
Jason overslept. He'd stayed awake, covering two sentry duty shifts overnight, and only crawled into his sleeping bag at 0600 as the sun started to rise. He'd heard yelling and laughing for the past hour and realized it was his team having a little R&R in the pool. By the time he’d gotten up and made his way over to the pool, things had settled down. Traveler was the last one still in the water.
"Good morning, Traveler. How's the water?" Jason asked.
"The water is a gift from Baruke. Like fire and air, one of the elemental forces."
Jason realized that the phrase 'how’s the water' was an English-language colloquialism and he'd taken the question literally. Over the past few weeks, Traveler had picked up English fairly quickly. Jason saw no need, nor did he have the energy right then, to correct him.
"I will leave you to some private time of tranquility, Captain."
Traveler pulled himself out from the rock pool. Seeing him now, naked, and without his heavy outer leather coverings, the years of battle were clearly evident. Scars—some were long and traveled the full length of his upper torso, and others were jagged, round-like clusters where his hide had been punctured. Seeing he was now alone, Jason activated his battle suit to disengage from his body. The torso and leg panels, as well as his boots, silently hinged open and allowed him to step out from it. The suit’s materials were extremely lightweight, yet sturdy enough for the battle suit to remain standing on its own. Wearing only his underwear, he jumped into the water. He'd expected it to be cold and invigorating, but it was more warm and relaxing—which was just as well.
"Mind if I join you, Captain?" came a voice from behind him. Jason pushed away from the side of the pool and turned as he treaded water. "Please, come on in," Jason said, trying to sound nonchalant. Dira stood at the edge of the pool, looking down at him. Smiling, she turned away and activated her own battle suit to disengage from her body, as Jason had, and now wore only bra and panties. Jason, averting his eyes from her, dove under the water and came up on the opposite side of the pool. Dira sat on the opposite edge, her legs in the water.
"The water's surprisingly warm," she said, then slowly slid the rest of the way in. "Captain, I've been meaning to ask you something, if that’s okay?"
"Sure, shoot."
"What are the rules about—" she hesitated, as if unsure how to ask. "What are the rules about … um … dating on board The Lilly? You know, for officers and the like?"
Jason's heart skipped a beat before realizing the reality of the situation. Lieutenant Morgan was the officer she was asking about. She treaded water several feet in front of Jason and was slightly out of breath. Waiting for his reply, she tilted her head all the way back and immersed her hair for a quick moment, exposing her wet, now see-through, bra.
"To be perfectly honest, I haven't checked the Alliance regulations. But if they’re anything like the Navy, and I'm fairly sure they would be, relationships between Alliance officers and an Alliance NCO crew member would be considered fraternization."
"Suppose it was an officer and someone who was not an Alliance crew member, but someone who was simply on loan from a civilian hospital?" Her Jhardian accent sounded almost Australian, but then again, different too.
Dira had moved a little closer, their faces no more than a foot apart.
"Like I said, I'm not up on Alliance rules and regs, but if you are a civilian, then dating Lieutenant Morgan may be—"
Dira burst out laughing, which soon turned to coughing and choking as she inhaled a mouthful of water. Jason took her arm and helped her over to the side of the pool. Once her coughing subsided, her smile returned.
"You OK?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm just showing you how sophisticated I can be."
Jason laughed. “Well, at least you didn't throw up; sophistication goes right out the window at that point." He was aware she had put her arm around his neck when he'd helped her over to the edge. She’d left it there and turned her face towards him—now only inches away.
"Morgan is certainly a good friend,” Dira said, starting to laugh again, but she then turned serious. "I wasn't referring to myself and Lieutenant Morgan, Captain." She didn't elaborate. She didn't need to. She let go the edge of the pool and brought her hands forward to encircle Jason's waist. She brought her lips close to the side of his face and he felt her lips lightly brush against his ear as she whispered, "Can I say something without the risk of being insubordinate?" Jason looked into her Jhardian eyes, with their flecks of violet and amber, her long lashes tickling his cheek with every blink.
"You might as well. No one else seems to worry about it," Jason said, in an equally soft whisper.
"I think you are doing everything you can to hide something."
"What would I have to hide? I think I'm pretty much an open book."
"I said trying to hide, not successfully hiding, something. There isn't a soul on board The Lilly who hasn't noticed there’s something going on between us. People notice things—they see how you look at me." Jason felt his cheeks flush. Had he been so obvious? Was he that transparent? She became serious and said, "Why don't you stop thinking so much?" Dira was pulling him backward, first beneath the cascading waterfall and then to the dark recessed space behind it. She brought her lips up to his and kissed him long and hard. Her arms and legs came up and encircled him. All too quickly, she pushed him away. "Okay, that's enough of that."
Speechless, Jason simply looked into those incredible eyes.
"You can't tell me that you weren't wondering what that would be like—now we know," she said.
"And now we know," Jason replied, finding it hard to keep the smile off his face.
“But ... Well, maybe you need to figure out what you want. I mean, are you back playing house with your ex-wife or are you really interested in me? You need to understand, I'm not human, Jason. I'm Jhardian. There are things about me, things that..." She stopped talking, embarrassed.
"Go on, Dira, please," Jason coaxed. He saw how important it was to her, and he wanted her to know he didn't take her concerns lightly.
"Courting a Jhardian girl. God, that sounds so old-fashioned.”
"Go on."
"Courting a Jhardian girl is different—unlike how it’s done on Earth. Not that I'm an expert on the goings-on with Earth relationships. And, unfortunately, I won’t be able to tell you how it's different."
Jason could see there was more she wanted to say. She was flustered. His hands rested gently on her hips. Immersed, they nestled closer together behind the waterfall—their faces inches apart.
"There's more… "
"Tell me, I want to know," Jason said.
"Oh, God. We’re ... I’m … physically not the same as a human," she said, barely loud enough to hear over the cascading water.
"Oh." He let that sink in for a moment. "So things don't work ..?"
Dira smiled, "No, they actually work just fine. Things definitely work. You'd be surprised how well things work. But, I'm not human." She smiled, more flustered. "How about we just leave it at that for now, OK?" She gave Jason a friendly shove, making him disappear back under the waterfall. "Cool off, sailor, I'm getting out."