The Honeymoon’s Over
By Yuki Wildstar
A Star Blazers Fan Fiction work
Chapter Four: THE
I. BACK ON THE BRIDGE
Space Battleship Endeavor
August 1, 2204
0805 Hours-Standard Earth Space-Time
Derek and Nova walked
onto the bridge together. All turned to look. “Hooray, the Captain’s back on
his feet!” someone yelled.
“Glad to see you’re
doing all right, sir.” Deputy Captain Lee said, “Are you ready for me to hand
over control to you?”
“Yup, and thank you…”
Wildstar said.
“For what? It was my
job, think nothing of it,” Lieutenant Commander Lee said back with a smile. He
was sure glad to see him back taking on his responsibilities as Captain,
because he knew it was not an easy job.
Lee had been forced
to make a report back to Earth to inform the family of the fallen pilot of his
death. It was not something he cared to do or wanted to do. But with Wildstar
out of commission some one had to tell the widow the sad news. Looking at the
face of the pilot’s wife on video was enough. I’m kinda glad that I didn’t
have to do it face to face. It’s hard enough on video…
“Lieutenant Commander
Lee, please come up to my quarters. I need to speak to you.” Wildstar said.
“Yes sir,” Lieutenant
Commander Lee replied
Wildstar turned to
Lieutenant Wright. “Mister Wright, take command, please.”
“Yes sir, Captain
Wildstar leaving the bridge, Lieutenant Wright is now in command…” He informed
the bridge crew.
In a private elevator
that went from the bridge to the Captain’s Quarters, Lieutenant Commander Lee
and Captain Wildstar rode up. Soon, they reached Wildstar’s somewhat
over-luxurious cabin. Wildstar was sitting behind his desk, studying a
personnel jacket.
“Have a seat,
Lieutenant Commander,” Wildstar said to Lee, motioning to a chair. “I wanted to
speak to you. Thanks again for taking over command; I feel very confident that
if ever some thing were to happen to me that the ship and the crew would be in
good hands. Also off the record, thanks for talking to Nova, she tells me that
you also lost someone dear to you, and that’s what kept her sane while I was
hurt and unconscious.”
“Thank you, sir,”
said Lee as he sat there looking rather stiff. “And, yessir, I was through
quite a tragedy.”
“Again, off the
record,” said Wildstar. “Evan, would you like to tell me what happened, or is
it too personal?”
“Sir?” said Lee with
raised eyebrows.
Wildstar held up his
personnel folder and sighed. “Lee, I really don’t mean to pry…but your jacket
baffles me! It shows when got out of the Academy you were some sort of a smart
ass and reckless with your crew. Then several years later, you were receiving
outstanding commendations and shows that a lot of your commanders thought
highly of you. Until last year sometime, when you were written up for striking
a superior officer in a drunken rage. So, Lieutenant Commander, what gives…or
is it too much to ask?”
“No sir, it’s not,”
Lee sighed. “The reason I shaped up after a reckless start was because of a
special someone many years ago. Her name was Diane, She was an officer aboard
the Abacus. When the Dengilians were
trying to destroy Earth, she was part of one of the crews that were slaughtered
by them while trying to get civilians to another planet. They tell me that she
almost made it out alive, but then they came right back and finished killing
them off like cattle. I started drinking and couldn’t think of staying sober.
You see we were going to be married within a week, nothing
extravagant…something simple and quick. She never made it back to get married,”
he said with tears in his eyes. “I saw how Lieutenant Commander Forrester sat
with you hour after hour and refused to leave your side, sir. The love you two
share is something I miss deeply and I hope that I find that again, but .....”
he paused “I doubt that will happen…every day I think of Diane and I wonder…what if?”
“And the officer you
hit?” Wildstar asked. “Who was it?”
Lee sighed. “It was
General Stone, sir.”
“Ohhh…” Wildstar was shocked
that he wasn’t thrown in the brig.
“You see, Diane was
his wife’s niece. He tried to get me to stop drinking, but I was too far gone
in grief. When he called me into his office that day I already had six beers,
and a whole lot of shots, I couldn’t even remember how I got there. Words were
exchanged and then he said it…It still rings in my ears to this day. She’s
dead and nothing will bring her back, that’s when I guess I swung at him
and got lucky to punch him straight in the eye. Two guards came and grabbed me
when they heard the commotion in the office. They said I was in a rage and
wouldn’t stop lunging for him. After a night in the brig I sobered up. Then,
Stone’s wife came down and sat with me. She told me what had happened, I was
still unaware of what I did and couldn’t believe it myself. She gave me a
message from him, she told me that I was relieved from my command until further
notice. I never knew what he put in my jacket...Until now, that is,” Lieutenant
Commander Lee told Wildstar.
“I see,” Wildstar
said. “Well, I’ll be sure to enter a new chapter into your jacket, stating that
you were a excellent commander while I was recovering from my injury.”
“Thank you, Captain
Wildstar,” was all that Lieutenant Commander Lee could say. He really never
talked about what happened that day, but he felt that he could speak his mind
with this Captain. He didn’t seem judgmental, to Lee…he seemed fair to all of
his crew.
“Well, Commander, it
looks like we need to get back on track,” said Wildstar as he stood up. “We
have a mission to carry out, and I’d better watch my step on the next thing I
do that might turn dangerous. If I get killed, I think my wife Nova will dig me
up, bring me back to life and then kill me again,” They both laughed at the
thought of it.
As they headed
towards the elevator, Lee turned to Wildstar, “Sir I think there is something I
should tell you. I don’t think that this job was a reprieve for me I think that
I was sent here to spy on you and Lieutenant Commander Forrester.”
“What?!” Wildstar
said, “By who?”
“General Stone
himself,” Lee replied. “I’m just curious as to why?”
Wildstar sighed. “I
know he is not too fond of the Star Force, nor of me, after back in 2201 we
defied orders and went off as mutineers to fight the Comet Empire. But I
thought that was old water under the bridge. He has always stood by Commanding
General Singleton when it comes to the Star Force, but I guess he never forgot
about that,” Wildstar spoke. “So what has the old general asked you to spy on
me about?”
“He wants me to
report back to him every week, and inform him if there is any, how should I put
this, sir…sleeping around with any unknown female that we are not going to
name,” Lee said from the side of his mouth.
“So he wants to play
dirty, does he? Well you keep making those weekly reports,” Wildstar informed
him. “Let’s see if can let him down each time; if he is so interested in my sex
life with Nova maybe he should just ask for a video tape of us doing the deed!”
They both laughed and went to the bridge.
“Attention, Captain
on the bridge!” someone called out.
The crew snapped to
at that.
“As you were,
everyone,” Wildstar said.
The bridge crew
relaxed at that.
Derek then said, “Okay.
Give me a recap on what happened yesterday before I was sent to Sickbay. Is
there anything on the Time Radar that shows what went wrong? Lieutenant
Commander Forrester?”
“No sir, my systems
all checked out clean. What ever it was, our radar systems could not pick it
up,” Nova replied. “I was scanning right when…it happened, and I detected
nothing unusual at all.”
“I see. How about
you, Lieutenant Miamato. Was there anything on the radio that you heard?”
Wildstar asked.
“No sir, nothing at
all?” Miamato responded.
“Lieutenant Wright,
any ideas on what could have happened?” Wildstar questioned. “Something must
have gone wrong!”
“Sir, with no
data…it’s hard to say, we might be looking at an enemy more advanced then our
systems. I am still running analysis with IQ-10 on the time frame of the
accident from Nova’s Time Radar readouts. We haven’t come up with anything yet.
Sorry, sir, Lieutenant Wright said.
Wildstar sighed. “It
seems suspicious. Given what has been happening around Planet Dunbar, I would
guess that we have a new enemy out there, so we’d better be on our toes. Keep
an eye out. I want the Black Tigers to make scouting trips up to a thousand
megameters’ radius of the ship to make sure that we are clear for the rescue
ship for those civilians. If you see anything, report it back as soon as you
see it.” Wildstar ordered. “Chief, make sure that the Wave Motion Engine is in
tip-top shape, who ever is out there is probably hostile and we don’t want to
get stuck floating out in space with our pants down!”
“Aye, aye, sir”
Watanabe said. “I’ll personally check it myself.”
“Thank you, Chief,”
Wildstar said. “Lieutenant Commander Lee, has the family of the pilot been
notified?” Derek said as he remembered about him.
“Yes sir, they have,”
Lieutenant Commander Lee replied.
“Lieutenant Miamato,
please open a line directly to his family and patch it to my quarters. I need
to talk to them, too,” Wildstar said with a huge sigh.
“Yes sir, Captain” Miamato
said. “We’ll be in contact in 5 minutes…I will let you know when I get
through.”
“Thank you,” replied
Wildstar while heading into his private elevator. I know that Lee has spoken
to them but I feel responsible and I am the Captain… I must say something to
his widow, Derek thought with his
head bowed.
As Nova and the rest
watched him enter the elevator, Lee turned to Nova and asked, “Why is he
calling the family again? I already did that. I don’t think that they need to
hear that he is dead all over again?”
Nova turned to him
and said, “Sir, you don’t seem to understand the Captain. It’s not that he
doesn’t think you did your job, but he feels the responsibility to all his crew
and their families. He wouldn’t feel right if he didn’t say something that
would ease their pain. He once told me that he’d have to personally speak to my
parents if I was ever killed on a mission…even though it would hurt him
immensely to do so.”
“I see,” Lieutenant
Commander Lee could only say in the matter. But, to himself he thought, This
Captain takes on a lot of responsibilities… even if it means taking the blame
for something that is not his fault. I only wish I could be like him, and then
again, I hope I never am…
II. WARP TO
Space Battleship Endeavor
August 2, 2204
1310 Hours-Standard Earth Space-Time
The next day, even
though the death of the pilot loomed over everyone’s head, Wildstar continued
with another exercise before heading to planet
Wildstar called for
all Astro Fighters to return to the ship, “OK everyone, nice job, I think we
are ready to move on to Planet Dunbar at last and go on with our mission! All
fighter pilots. return to the ship and prepare to make our final space warp,”
Derek said into his helmet mike.
Once he landed back
on the ship, Wildstar jumped out of his Super Star Fighter and went to the
bridge, “How did it look out there?” he asked Lee.
“Damn fantastic, if
you ask me,” Lee replied with a smile.
As Wildstar looked
over at Nova, she returned the stare with a smile, which was her way of saying…good
job, you came back to me in one piece…
“OK, everyone…let’s
get this ship rolling over to
Everyone on ship
scrambled to secure all compartments. Lt. Denise Howard was doing just that. As
she placed a laptop into her locker in their cabin, Lt. Jessica Springer ran
into their quarters and ran right into her, almost knocking her onto her butt.
“Hey, watch it!” Howard yelled.
“Sorry, I didn’t see
you!” Springer said.
“You know that these
quarters are tight, you can’t just be rushing in here, you Goddamn idiot!”
Howard yelled back.
“What is your problem?!” Springer snapped back.
“You can be running
around not paying attention to your surroundings, and you do that all the
time! And I’m pretty much sick of it,”
snapped Howard. “You have your crap all over the place and you always expect
Nova and I to pick it up for you, you stinky skinny stringbean meat-eater!”
“I do not!” griped
back Springer. “And you’re an ugly little shrimp! Just five feet tall, and you
act like you own this damn ship!”
“Like hell! Clean up
your mess! We are getting ready for a warp, and I don’t want to get hit in the
head with one of your stupid boots,” Howard yelled back.
“Hah! I don’t expect others to clean up after me!” yelled Howard
with her hands on her hips. “And it’s not that
messy in here! And if you don’t like rooming here then find other some space to
move into, preferably the bilge of the ship where the rats live!” Springer spat
back with bile and venom like a snake.
“You know I hate
women like you, you’re needy, and you’re also always into someone else’s
business. You’re one of those women that thrives on gossip to get her way, Jessica, you sneaky snake!” Lt. Howard
said.
“No, I don’t, Denise!” Springer said. She grabbed up
one of her shower flip-flops and was temped to throw it at Howard. That’ll shut you up, she thought to
herself.
“Oh, no?” said
Howard. “Then, Jessica, why were you so interested in Nova and Doctor Spada?
Were you hoping that something would have developed between them so you could swoop
in and save the day for the Captain? You’re nothing more than a conniving
gossipy tramp that would do anything to make someone else’s life miserable.
I’ve seen your type before, quick with the rumors and never wondering if you
hurt anyone on the way. Not even after you saw how Nova was upset while her
husband lay in Sickbay half-dead! You’re a selfish conniving bitch and you’ll
stop at nothing to get your jollies!” Howard yelled at Springer.
“Drop dead!” screamed Springer. She threw her flip-flop
at Howard and then lunged at her…and, at that, the cat fight began.
The shorter Howard
slammed her fist into Springer’s face a few times, bloodying her too-pretty
lower lip a moment later. Springer took the blows, and she shoved Howard to the
deck, shoving her knees into her stomach while she clawed at Howard’s face.
Springer responded by pulling Howard’s hair, pulling out a huge hunk of it
while the two women wrestled on the deck like wild animals, ramming into Nova’s
desk when they both got up for a moment. Springer threw Howard onto the desk
like a sack of potatoes with a huge crash that knocked Nova’s picture of
Captain Wildstar and several of her books to the deck, along with the flower
vase that the young woman always filled every day with fresh flowers, adding a
touch of class to the crowded cabin.
Lt. Pesci and Lt.
Delvechio were walking by when they heard another big crash. They ran in the
direction of the sound. When the hatch flew open, to their surprise, two female
officers were at each other’s throat like a dog fight while Nova’s desk chair
lay smashed in half on the deck!
“What the hell is going on here? We’re about to
warp in five minutes!” Delvechio yelled. While Pesci grabbed Howard, Delvechio
grabbed Springer. They had to pull them apart like wild animals.
While Pesci pulled
Howard, he snapped, “Are you aware that we’re warping and that you two have
just damaged Lieutenant Commander Forrester’s desk with your damn antics?”
“Let go of me!”
Howard spat at Pesci.
“Let me at her!” Springer said trying to free
herself from Delvechio.
“Calm down ladies,
this is not the time for some brawl, we are warping in four minutes now! Get everything secure and strap yourselves down!”
Pesci said.
They both let them go
in hopes that they would do as they had ordered, but before they knew it,
Springer and Howard were at each other again. “You tramp!” Howard yelled out to
Springer.
“You little trollop!”
Springer screamed back.
Delvechio and Pesci
looked at each other and nodded “OK, have it your way!” Pesci said. Delvechio
and Pesci threw both women into the bunks and strapped them down by force while
on the intercom Wildstar announced that warp would be in T minus 2 minutes.
“Lets get this stuff
put away before someone gets hurt,” Delvechio said.
“Yeah” Pesci said
back.
As the Two Tonys
cleaned up and put all dangerous items away that could hurt someone, the two
women continued to scream and curse at each other.
Damn, I never knew that women could have mouths like that, thought Delvechio. I
never hear Nova using that sort of language. She’s a real woman, and a class
act, unlike these high school girls here, he thought.
“What are we going to
do with them?” Lt. Pesci said.
“Keep them here ‘til
after the warp, then we have to report it back to the Captain. And I’m sure
he’s not going to be too happy about this,” Delvechio said.
“Nova’s not going to
be happy, either,” said Pesci. “They wrecked a lot of her stuff, including her
chair and that nice vase.”
All the time, the two
women continued to insult each other and curse.
“SHUT UP ALREADY!”
Pesci screamed. “It’s bad enough that you are throwing it down just before a
major space warp, but to continue to act like two bratty low-class high school
girls is lower then low! Didn’t you graduate from the Academy?”
“I did, with honors,
unlike you and Miss Perfect here!” screamed Howard. “I should have brained you
with my sneakies!”
“Go to Hell, bitch!”
snapped Springer in her
“SHUT UP!” yelled
Pesci. “You two just lay there, look pretty and keep your mouths shut!”
“I’m prettier than you, Denise!” yelled Jessica.
“SHOVE IT!” yelled
back Howard as she got a hand free and gave Springer the finger while the two
Tonys shook their heads in utter disbelief.
“Count down to warp,
begin final count down sequence,” Captain Wildstar ordered over the PA.
“10.....9.....8.....7.....6.....5......4.....3.......2......1....WARP!”
“WARP!” repeated Lee.
The helm control was
pulled back while the Endeavor roared
into warp.
At his post, Derek looked over, forcing his eyes opened against
the force for a moment, and he saw Nova beginning to glow as she lay there at
her post during warp with her eyes closed and her head back. She floated there
like a ghost for a moment as streams of multicolored light ripped past her in
the eerie otherworld of subspace. It was a sensation she was used to, but it
still scared her a little every time they executed a warp.
Nova was not alone.
Derek remembered what Sandor had said long ago about the space warp, “A minor mistake, and we would disappear forever,
probably into the Fourth Dimension. Warping takes a great deal of precision and
power!”
Please, God, don’t let anything happen to you now, Nova, thought Derek as he felt disconcertingly like his insides
were going to float up from out of his mouth for a moment in warp.
Down below, Springer
and Howard were wailing like banshees in the weird otherworld of warp as they
felt their bunks crawling under them. For a moment, Springer felt uncomfortably
like she had no clothes on in front of anyone (a common side-effect of a warp)
while Howard screamed, thinking that her bunk had come alive and was eating her
while she drifted through a galaxy with lights speeding about them (another
common side-effect of the space warp.)
“YOU TWO SHUT UP!”
yelled Pesci (as he tried to keep from throwing up himself).
Howard screamed, “MY
SNEAKIE IS TRYING TO EAT ME!” as she thought one of her sneakers had come alive
like a snake.
A moment later, the
weird rushing sensation stopped as the star of the Dunbar System appeared before
the ship.
With a sub-sonic slam and a hum, the weirdness of warp faded
around Wildstar and the others as the Endeavor
solidified at last in a burst of light in the Dunbar System.
“We’re through,”
muttered Wildstar.
“Warp completed, all
systems check,” Lee ordered from his post as he wiped sweat off his brow.
“The radar is fine,
Captain,” Nova said as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes. “We emerged from
warp right on mark at PX-212, no magnetic drift.”
“Radio working and in
perfect order,” Miamato said.
“Systems and
computers working at nominal,” Wright announced.
“Engine room here,
all is well…no problems,” Chief Watanabe announced. “The new wave supercharger
handled the extended warp just as advertised,” he added. “My engines barely
even broke a sweat, sir.”
“OK everyone, great
job… lets take this op.....” Wildstar began.
However, he was was
cut short with a call over the intercom as it buzzed. It was Pesci. “Captain Wildstar,
I think you need to come to Quarters 36N on the officers’ deck, sir. Right now!”
Nova stood up…she was
very puzzled, because that happened to be her
quarters. What could possibly go wrong
there? Nova thought.
“Sir, that’s my cabin,”
Nova said to Wildstar.
Wildstar nodded in
her direction and prepared to make his way down in the Captain’s chair after he
threw his peacoat on. “Well, I guess we should both see what’s going on in your
room, then, Commander, shall we?” he said to Nova. He looked at Lee. “Mister
Lee, take the bridge.”
“Yes sir, Captain
leaving the bridge!” Deputy Captain Lee said.
“Lt. Wright, please
come with us” Wildstar said.
“Yes, Sir!” Wright
said. He followed them down to the officers’ berthing deck.
FIVE MINUTES LATER….
As they all entered
the cabin, Wildstar, Nova and Wright looked at the two female officers lying in
their bunks strapped down like two criminals trying to escape. With the two
women still yelling at each other, the Two Tonys stood to attention when
Wildstar, Nova and Wright entered the small cramped room.
“What the heck is
going on here?” Wildstar commanded.
Nova looked at her
stripped desk, almost speechless when she picked up a piece of her vase and a
single battered flower. “What….what
happened to my things?” she gasped.
“Ma’am, our first
concern is those two,” said Wright while Springer and Howard screamed at each
other.
“Lieutenant Pesci!
Why are these women strapped to their bunks?” snapped Derek while Springer and Howard
were still yelling insults and curses at each other.
“Its her fault!”
Springer yelled.
“Not! It’s your
fault, you bitch! And when I get out
of this, I’ll show you whose fault it is!” Howard yelled.
“Is this some kind of
warp sickness?” said Wright.
“No, they were
fighting before the warp and they wrecked the place,” said Delvechio as he
shook his head with disgust. “They were insulting each other and also insulting
Lieutenant Commander Forrester like she was there with them in person. This is
a new low in professionalism, Captain.”
Wildstar looked at
Nova, while Nova looked at both of them with disgust and distaste written
across her face. Derek recognized that look. The last time Nova had looked like
that was when she had accidentially stepped on a centipede barefoot in their
house before the mission.
“Your roomies?”
Wright asked.
“Unforturnately,
yes,” Nova said with a sigh.
“Ma’am, I feel very
sorry for you,” said Wright as he put a hand on Nova’s shoulder.
Derek stepped up
behind her and hugged her for a moment. “You have to live with this?” he said
quietly to Nova.
“Yessir. Every day.
Captain, they are horrible…”
“ENOUGH!” Wildstar
yelled as he stared down Springer and Howard. “Not another word from either of
you! Lieutenants, release them now!”
“Sir are you sure?
They seem to be determined to kill each other,” Pesci said with a smile.
“It could be
hazardous to our health, sir,” said Pesci.
“Let them go”
Wildstar said. “Now.”
“Yessir,” said Pesci.
He went for Howard’s straps. Just when Pesci let Howard go, she jumped out of
her bunk and went for Springer.
Nova jumped in to
defend her. As Howard was almost ready to throw a punch in Springer’s
direction, Nova managed to grab Howard’s hand and turn her around.
“Let go of me, you
blonde surfer dude bitch!” screamed Howard at Nova.
“Stop it!” Nova yelled at her. “Your Captain is standing right here,
are you insane? Get yourself together, and come outside with me, and right now!”
“I’ll see you later, snot-brain!” Howard warned Springer while Nova escorted her out of
the room.
“DROP DEAD!” yelled
Springer over Nova’s shoulder.
“Lieutenant!” barked Nova as she frog-marched Howard out into the
corridor. Since Nova was bigger than Howard, it was not theoretically that
hard, but Howard was struggling like a wildcat. Nova nearly had to slap Denise
once to make her stop struggling.
“Now if we let you
go,” said Wildstar to Jessica Springer, “Are you gonna try the same thing? If
so, we are gonna have to man-handle you,” Wildstar said.
“No sir,” Springer
said as she tried to calm down.
“Very well then,
untie her. Now get yourself together and report to my quarters in an hour,”
Wildstar commanded.
As he walked out the
door he turned to Howard and Nova “That goes for you two also.”
“Yessir,” said Nova
with a salute.
“Aye, aye, sir,” said Howard with a glare at the
deck.
“Lt. Wright, please
come with me,” Wildstar said as he turned to him and waved him along.
“Yes, sir,” Lt.
Wright replied.
As they walked towards
the bridge, Wildstar could only think to himself Women…sheesh!
“Sir, what are you
going to do with them? Obviously they can’t room together anymore; they’ll just
tear each other apart,” Wright said.
“I guess they have no
choice,” huffed Derek. “Listen. I can’t go changing room assignments everytime
someone is not getting along. We all have to work and live together! This is
not a country club or a sorority house. This is a space warship! We can’t pick
and choose who we work with,” Wildstar said with annoyance. “When all three of
them get here, send them straight in. I’ve got words for all three of those ladies!”
“Yes, sir,” Lt.
Wright said.
As Wildstar went to
his quarters on his private elevator he just thought to himself, Oh, Nova
forgive me for what I’m gonna have to do, please don’t hate me…but the mission
is more important than us! And more important than even your feelings.
When all three of
them marched up to the Captain’s quarters a few minutes later, both Springer
and Howard wondered why the heck Nova was there. It wasn’t her that caused the
commotion. In fact, she hadn’t even been
there during the fight!
Howard tried to see
what Nova thought about it, but she had no clue. Nova kept her face totally
deadpan and had said nothing to them on the way up. Springer was more
intrigued, Why would the Captain put his wife in the middle of all this?
Maybe he’s gonna use her as a good little miss tootie shoes example, how his
wife conducts herself and how she is the best crew he ever had, oh give me a
break, Goddamnit, she’s a snotty bitch just like us, Springer thought to
herself.
Nova knocked on the
hatch and said “Sir, it’s Lt. Commander Forrester, Lt. Springer and Lt. Howard;
may we enter?”
“Enter” Wildstar
commanded.
All three of them
came in, saluted Wildstar, and stood at attention as Derek got up from his
desk. A moment later, he said, “At ease, ladies. Now, I would love to hear what
this was all about, but I have enough on my mind with this little mission that
the EDF has sent us on. So excuse me if I can care less then a rat’s ass about
the fight or your little personal drama, and that goes for all three of you and
your damn little soap opera!” snapped Derek.
Great, thought Nova as she looked hard at her boots. It’s all my fault for not reading you two
the riot act the first day. You two
and your sneakies and brocoli and all that garbage! Derek, please don’t put me
up on charges for this…even though I probably deserve to be, Nova thought
in a depressed fashion.
“You three make me sick!” barked Wildstar. “Forrester,
Springer, and Howard! You three are officers on this damn ship and I expect you
to act like officers or go home and
take shore commands! How does it look to the others down in rank if I can’t
keep my officers in line? As for the fighting, I will not have it on my ship
unless you’re fighting with enemy fighters! Use your aggression elsewhere,
ladies! You are ladies? That is what I think you are?”
“Yessir!” barked back Nova for all three of them, looking at Derek
as if she was just a midshipman all over again and he was her company
commander. Her taking the heat for them from her own husband surprised both
Howard and Springer as they stood there open-mouthed.
“Springer!” yelled
Wildstar in Springer’s face. “You were an honor graduate? Right?”
“Aye, aye, sir!”
barked back Springer.
“I can’t hear you!” yelled Wildstar.
“YESSIR!” yelled
Springer.
“You, Howard!”
snapped Derek. “An Armstrong Honors Graduate! How did you earn that honor? In a
Goddamn cereal box?” Wildstar barked.
“Sir, I earned it for
my military bearing and pride!” she snapped back.
“None of which I saw
today,” mocked Derek. “Forrester! What excuse do you have for this motley crew?”
“No excuse, sir!”
barked back Nova.
“That is the first
intelligent statement I have heard out of any of you ladies,” said Derek as he
paced like an angry panther. “There is no damn excuse! I don’t expect much from
my crew…only for them to do their jobs and do them well. All other tidbits and
little soap operas and games will cease as of now! I will not hear of any more
arguing and fighting or else both of you will be put in the brig for the
remaining time of this mission!” Wildstar yelled. “That means you, Howard, and
you, Springer! Are we clear?”
“Yessir!” they
yelled.
“And, Forrester, I
expected better of you,” said Derek
right in Nova’s face. “You have the rank. You have the ringmaster’s whip down
there, so use it to can that damn
clown college in 36N. Got that?”
“Yessir,” said Nova.
“Sir, permission to speak,”
asked Howard.
“Go on,” Wildstar
said, pretty much already knowing what she was going to ask.
“Sir, it was myself
and Lt. Springer that were in a fight, why is Lt. Commander Forrester here? She
didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, she was at her post when it happened!”
Howard was curious.
“Well since you are
asking, the reason why Lt. Commander Forrester is present in this is because
she is your roommate and senior officer. It is her duty to present to me any
mishaps that occur with her roommates. She was a little remiss in letting me
know about this, which is why she had to be addressed. Also, it won’t be my
job, to give out your punishment…it will be hers….” Wildstar said as he looked
into Nova’s face and saw the expression he expected.
“Sir?” all three said
at the same time.
“Well, Commander,
What is it going to be?” Wildstar asked as he looked at Nova. “You slipped up.
How does an officer like you fix her messes?” he asked rhetorically.
Nova knew now why he
wanted her to be present; he wanted to show no favoritism. She was the senior
officer, and she knew this was her job. She knew that Derek loved her and their
jobs have nothing to do with that. She only wish that this didn’t happen,
especially since now she knew had to make the call on what was the proper
punishment for them. But she already knew. “Sir, we had an old tradition in the
Star Force. I believe it was that it was that we should have them run around
the ship three times .....” Springer was relieved and thought that was fair
enough, Howard on the other hand heard about the tradition and went white. “In
their underclothes,” Nova added. “Panties, bra, bare feet.”
“What!?” Springer said.
“You heard your
superior! She said, you will run three laps around the ship in your
underclothes, and I suggest that you people wear t-shirts, also.” Wildstar
said, thankful that Nova caught on to him.
“Of course, sir,” said Nova with a slight
blush. I hope I have a proper undershirt
I can find in that mess down below, she thought.
“Now ladies, you are
dismissed, and don’t let me hear about any more cat fights or else you will be
floating your way back to Earth,” Wildstar turned and waved them out before
they could salute or say anything else.
TWO MINUTES LATER…
“Now see what you’ve done!” Springer said to Howard. “If it
wasn’t for you…”
“Grow up, Springer,
you dumb nurse!” Howard said trying to wave her away.
Nova turned around and
yelled, in the midst of taking one of her own boots off (they had no idea why
she was doing so as they walked down the passage towards their room) “Ladies,
enough already, or is it that you two want to spend time in the brig? Because I
can darn well arrange it! And Springer, Howard is right…grow up! We are not
back in high school. There’s a job that we are all here to do and this is
taking up too much time from it. So let’s get back to our cabin so you can
carry out your punishment, and then we can get on with our work.” Nova said.
“It’s easy for you to
say, brainy!” Springer said with
vile.
“Look, Springer!”
Nova whipped around on her toes; she was now barefoot with her boots in her
hands. “Are we gonna have a problem? Because if we are, we can settle this on
the flight deck right now!. I’ve had about enough of your snide remarks towards
me and Howard! I don’t appreciate being put in this situtation, but I’m here.
Now suck it up or else! I really don’t think you want to get on my bad side,
either of you two, especially because you smashed my things in your little drama! So let’s get it over with!”
They both never saw
Nova as angry as that. All they both could say in response was, “Yes, ma’am,”
and wonder why, when they got into their cabin, she was undressing along with
the rest of them…
III. THE RUN
Space Battleship Endeavor
August 2, 2204
1622 Hours-Standard Earth Space-Time
“Whoooah, ladies on the run!” shouted an enlisted man.
“Run, ladies, Run!”
shouted another.
“Oh baby, loving
those legs!” another crewmember yelled out.
“How’s about a date,
Springer?” yelled a pilot.
“Hey, Forrester, does
Wildstar loan ya out to anyone?” yelled a Space Marine.
Springer and Howard ran
as they were told, but they never thought that Nova would run with them, also
down to a just a T-shirt and her own panties. She ran by their side for the
whole three laps and got just as sweaty (and drew just as many catcalls from
the men) as they did. This made their punishment just a little more bearable.
When they were done
running, they sat down together on the deck near their quarters. “Oh, those
decks and moving belts! I never knew how hard they could be on a lady’s feet!” moaned Springer as she rubbed her bare feet.
“I need a new
pedicure,” sniffed Howard as she wiggled her toes.
“It’s not the most
comfortable experience,” said Nova as she rubbed the sole of her own right bare
foot a little while trying not to let on that one of her thighs was cramping up
a little bit. How did that happen?
Nova thought. Oh, yeah, that must have
been when I ran them through the produce cooler in the galley while yelling the
PT song…PT..we need it, we love it, we want more of it, Drill Sergeant! That
cooler….whew…It gets kinda cold in there.
Nova, of course,
didn’t quite know that the galley crew had heard them giving their concert in
the cooler as they ran in circles, and thought that all three of them were nuts.
“If you ran down the
beach a few kilometers a day in just a swimsuit in the sand, you’d be a little
more used to it,” Nova said as she blushed while adjusting her panties. “Gotta
make sure there’s…nothing showing. At least on board ship.”
“Were you
embarrassed, ma’am?” said Howard as she sat back against the bulkhead, letting
the cool of the metal soak into her semi-bare back. She had run with only a
cropped top on, while Springer wore a tight t-shirt and Nova had worn a
favorite tank top in pink that showed off her shoulders and a little of her finely
sculpted abdomen. When she had run past Derek, they had exchanged winks that no
one else had seen. He had seen her in that tank top a lot during their
honeymoon and wonderful time on Earth together afterwards. She had liked to
wear that tank top, a pair of denim shorts, and thongs to ride her bike to the
store to pick things up while they had been on Earth before the mission.
“Very,” said Nova
with a blush. “Especially with some of that stuff Lieutenant Commander Lee was
yelling on “C” deck. And you two should have been, too!”
When they both
questioned her as to why she bore the humiliation with them, Nova just turned
to them and said, “Easy. I’m the senior officer over you, and I know how these
guys can be. At least if I was with you, it wouldn’t have been as bad. So shut
up and strip down, girls.” With that, they learned to respect her more as they
respected the Captain.
After their run they
all turned into the shower, Nova was still showering when Howard approached
Springer. “Can I talk to you?”
“Sure, what is it?”
Springer said wary of what she was going to say.
“Look Springer, we
both may not like each other much but we have to live and work together on this
ship! Let’s just stay professional when we can and stay out of each other’s way
when we are not working. I really don’t like the fact the we dragged poor
Forrester into this. Its hard enough for her being the Captain’s wife and
trying to establish herself as an officer. I have too much respect for her and
I don’t want to see her get dragged down over something as stupid such as this.
You can see it pained the Captain to put her in the middle of this, but he was
being fair in all of it. You have to give them that much. OK?” Howard stuck out
her hand for a shake.
At first Springer was
hesitant but then she heard her out, “Yeah you’re right, I’ve been a little
hard on her. I need to back off, and act more professional. Let’s get dressed
and grab something to eat.”
“Good idea,” said
Howard
They shook hands, got
dressed, and left, not realizing that Nova overheard had everything they said.
“Derek, you sly dog how do you do it?” Nova thought to herself. She got
dressed herself and went to dinner.
As they each went
into the mess hall, all the crew stood up and cheered. “OK, you guys” Springer
said as she bowed. “Our little girly show has been cancelled and there will be
no more encores. Thank you all…you have been a great audience!”
Both Howard and
Springer went and got their trays when they heard two voices behind them. “So
maybe next time they can do a jello fight? What do you think T?”
“I’d prefer seeing
them mud wrestle in bikinis,” said another voice.
Springer turned
around to see Pesci and Delevechio standing behind them with grins on their
faces.
“Like I said, fellas…no
more encores the show has been cancelled,” Springer said with a smile.
“But that was for the
run, we’re talking about the cat fight!” Pesci said grinning harder.
“You’re cute, but no,
that’s over!” Howard laughed at him.
“I’m Lt. Delvechio,
Tony “Tone” Delvechio, I’m one of the Black Tigers and this gentleman that
helped me pull you two apart is Lt. Anthony “Pesh” Pesci; he’s the leader of
the Black Tigers. May you’d like to join us at our table, ladies? It’s the
least you could do after we had to get involved with your little mishap,”
Delvechio said.
Lt. Springer and Lt.
Howard looked at each other and nodded, “OK.,you two show us the way…, Springer
said.
As Nova walked into
the mess hall she saw what took place on the chow line with the Two Tonys,
Springer and Howard. Well… let’s hope those four stay out of trouble. I
don’t think I can handle another day like this…
Nova was looking around, wanting to share a table with Derek (partially
so she could reassure him that she was not mad at him; she knew he had a job to
do, after all) when Doctor Spada came up to her before she saw the Captain.
“Like to sit down here?” said Doctor Spada.
Nova’s face dropped at that. I wanted to spend time with Derek! Nova
sighed to herself. However, she just shook her head and sighed, “All right?
Let’s sit down, Doctor.”
“How was that run?” he asked. “You looked cute in what you had on. Were
you hot?”
“It was OK” was all
Nova could say.
“So how about that
lunch date, strictly as two officers talking shop…that’s all,” Spada said while
waving his hands.
Nova smiled and
figured, Ohhh, why not? “Sure Doc…you
lead the way!”
They took a seat in
the middle of the mess hall so no one would think something was going on. “So,
when were you going to mention to me that you were Captain Wildstar’s wife?”
Spada asked.
“I assumed that you
knew, everyone on this ship pretty much makes sure I don’t forget it,” Nova
smiled. “Don’t get me wrong…I love him and I’m glad to be working side by side
with him, but it can be a curse also. It’s like, everyone is walking on egg
shells around me. I’m not that different than before I married Derek.”
“Ah, but you are
different ,Madam! You are now the Captain’s wife, and you’re gonna have to work
harder then the rest of them to prove you are your own person,” Lieutenant
Spada said. “I am sorry that I was a little mad at you when I found out, I was
more mad at myself for feeling like a fool and throwing myself at you. But the
Captain has great taste in women. He has a smart beautiful wife that stands by
his side. Not too many men can say that about their women. Half the guys that I
went to
“And you, Lieutenant
Spada, are you divorced or never been married?” Nova asked.
“Never had the
opportunity to find the right girl, although I thought I did at one time. But
she was too busy with school and then she ran off to join the Star Force.”
“Oh really, when did
she join, I’ve might have met her?” Nova had no clue that it was her who was
that special person.
“No I don’t think so.
It was a long time ago,” Spada said while trying to keep his emotions down.
“Well I’m sure that
you’ll run into her again, someday,” Nova said while digging at her salad.
Spada noticed that she especially liked salads, and shook his head a little,
thinking, You haven’t changed, Nova. You
still like your green vegetables and tomatoes.
“I’m sure I will,”
said Spada.
They both made idle
conversation, and then Nova excused herself to go back to work. She had a lot
to catch up on. “Thank you for being a good dinner companion, but I must be
going. ’l’ll see you tomorrow morning for sick call, Doctor,” and with that
said, Nova left him there.
Nova walked back to
the bridge to check out some reports before she had to do her rounds in the
medical unit. When she entered the bridge, she waved hello to the others and
went straight to work. She never noticed that Derek was standing over her.
“Are you alright,
Nova?” Wildstar said looking down on her.
“What?” Nova looking
up not realizing that it was Derek. “Captain, oh…I didn’t know it was you, what
was that you said?”
“Are you alright?, I
didn’t mean to get you involved but...”
“Nothing to it,
Skipper, as if you didn’t know how it turned out…” Nova smiled at him.
“What do you mean?”
“Well after their
punishment they decided to call a truce, so your plan worked.” Nova giggled at
the thought.
“So the war among the
sororities is over?” Wildstar laughed
“Yeah, thanks to
you,” Nova gestured at him.
“Well I’m glad that
it all worked out,” Wildstar was relieved that all went well. He felt horrible
putting her in that situation but he had to do it for her sake.
Talking in a low
voice Derek leaned over and whispered into Nova’s ear, “I’m going to bed now,
want to join me, Mrs Wildstar?”
“As good as that
sounds, Captain Wildstar, I can not. I am married and if my husband knew I was
fooling around with the Captain of this ship he would be very angry,” whispered
Nova back with a teasing voice as she gave him a quick kiss on the back of his
head that she hoped no one else saw.
“Well then, I guess I
should be going to bed alone…for now,” Wildstar replied. Derek gazed into
Nova;s eyes and smiled, thinking, I’ll miss you tonight and every night
until we are home again…
Nova smiled back, thinking, Oh, I would just love to be naked in
your arms tonight, Derek, but not on this darn mission…although I wish we had
the privacy to do so….
On the other side of
the bridge Lieutenant Commander Lee looked on, thinking, Oh to hell with the
General, Wildstar and Nova are conducting themselves more professionally than
most of the whole fleet and EDF! So why
does he have it in for them, it’s none of my business about their personal life
just as long as it doesn’t interfere with the mission? As far as I’m concerned
all is well and there’s no fraternizing what so ever. They are still newlyweds
and we should give them time to themselves. They won’t hurt anyone if we do
that…
“Lieutenant Commander
Lee?” Wildstar called him over
“Yes, sir?”
“I’m heading to bed,
first thing in the AM, please have all the pilots and Space Marines meet me in
the video room. I want to go over the mission with them. We will be in
communication with the rescue ship and Planet Dunbar at about 1200 hrs. So, we
have to start setting our ducks in line so we can get those people off that
planet. Have four fighter pilots scan the area for tonight. I want to know what
we are in for and I don’t want any surprises. Make sure that everything is in
working order. It’s going to be a very long day so try to get some sleep, I’m
gonna need you tomorrow,” Wildstar said as he turned around took and one last
look at his wife and hopped his private elevator to his sleeping quarters.
As Derek left, Nova
blew him a kiss, thinking, I love you,
Derek…I love you so much!
Then, she blushed,
hoping that no one noticed.
TO BE CONTINUED….