MWGA FURY Class Attack Transport - WHIPLASH
Operations Officer Rewar Talvi stood within the Whiplash’s Control Center as it underwent final preparations for Transmission to the HESTIA System and their rendezvous with the DROMEDARY. The Transport’s captain and crew’s actions in getting ready to embark met with his approval. Being aboard a military craft was preferable to having to deal with Corporate or the Core forbid... Civilian Transports. Both his crew and the Mission Transport BOX were secured. The only thing left to do was get underway. Since the WHIPLASH was lower mass than the DROMEDARY, they would make the arrival point approximately six hours behind. Plenty of time for the ‘corporate clunker’ as Altea called it to receive the priority communicae and put a hold on disembarking any cargo or personnel upon arrival.
Long as the errant Transport BOX had been properly secured by the DROMEDARY crew and no one opened the damn thing, the task would simply be to go aboard and retrieve it. If in the unlikely event the unthinkable happened, his Contingency Team would be on hand to contain the problem. In the case of the ‘nightmare scenario’, much more potent measures would be necessary.
OO Talvi pushed that horrible thought from his mind as the Whiplash’s Captain gave the final commands. “Secure Jump Restraints!” A young Control Technician barked out a reply, “All jump restraints register secure Captain!” “Secure all bulkheads!” Talvi felt the restraint’s strong energy field hold him in place while he watched the clear bulkheads transition to molecularly opaque. Immediately after the transition followed the sound of the Transport’s Molecular Hull Compression Shielding coming online. “All bulkheads register secure Captain!” Calling to the Transport’s AI the Captain said, “WHIPLASH, this is Transport Captain Ul Listes please respond.” “Aye Captain Listes, This is WHIPLASH please give your command.” “WHIPLASH, initiate Warp Bubble Generation on my mark.” “WHIPLASH standing by for Warp Bubble Generation.” “OASIS-10, this is Captain Ul Listes of the MWGA AT-WHIPLASH. We are initiating Warp Bubble for Particle Wave Transmission in two-zero Earth Standard Seconds and counting.”
Talvi saw the viz feed on the main hard light display as OASIS-10 Station Commander Sette Clavon’s tired face bid them farewell. “Have a safe Transmission Captain Listes and good hunting to you Operations Officer Talvi! Stand by for Particle Wave Transmission in ten ESS.” Talvi listened to the countdown and heard the Warp Bubble Generators charging up raising the Transport’s normally low-noise level. Just when the noise-level reached a crescendo the AI announced, “Warp Bubble Generation Complete, Particle Wave Transmission initiated.”
For one barely perceptible instant, everything seemed to shrink down to a single point in space and time. Immediately afterward the Transport’s AI made its report. “Captain, Warp Bubble is optimal. Warp Bubble Generators are functioning at optimal levels. Time to HESTIA System EST is two hours, thirty minutes and forty-five seconds. Estimated Bubble Time EST is two weeks, three days, six hours, fifteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds.” “Very well WHIPLASH. Give Transport wide announcements. All personnel are clear to release jump restraints. WHIPLASH you have the Con, carry out the plan of the day.” “Aye, aye Captain Listes. All Second Section-Duty personnel report to your stasis containers following scheduled nutrient intake cycles.”
Talvi stood up from the jump seat in time to intercept the Whiplash’s Captain as she walked toward him. “So, are you and your team planning on ‘sleeping’ this run off Operations Officer?” “Not at all Captain Listes. We’ve been down for nearly three hundred years with less than five ESH up time since arriving at OASIS-10. We’re going to put the next two weeks and three days to good use.” “Very well Operations Officer Talvi. You can do the mission briefing after my next scheduled nutrient intake cycle if that suits you?” Talvi took in the much shorter dark-skinned female. His PHUD registered her statistics at being an MHG-3.5 one point eight meters tall and seventy point three-zero-six-eight kilograms in weight. The Captain was still of prime age at two hundred seventy-three ESY. Her short-cropped red-blonde hair and dark green eyes made her look quite exotic. To his disappointment, she was listed as permanently bonded. ‘No surprise there,’ thought Talvi. “Certainly Captain Listes, Summon me when you are ready.”
Outside the Transport Control Compartment the Contingency Team stood by. All five members gave crisp salutes to Captain Listes as she passed with her officers and technicians. OO Talvi approved of the show of respect for the Transport’s captain. He and his team were Corporate Security and were not required to pay deference to the military. However, the last thing he needed was a captain with her PBM uncalibrated because of a perceived lack of respect aboard her vessel. The team then saluted him and stood in the ready position for orders.
“All right. Here’s the long and short. I’ll be briefing the Captain in two ESH. Altea, you’re with me. Espan, you and Cais will do regular checks on our weapons and Mission BOX security. Vell, Deo you two work out our logistics and contingency plans for what we might encounter upon intercept of the DROMEDARY. You all have two weeks up time until we reach the HESTIA System. The last three days we’ll use to prep. We’ll meet for physical training at zero-five hours each full cycle. Questions?” Talvi waited a moment as his team stood silent. “Roger that. Fall out.”
As the technicians went about their duties Talvi’s companion Altea asked, “So, are you going to try and procreate with the Whiplash’s Captain?”
“Jealous?”
“You know I don’t have a jealousy module in my personality emulation, lucky for you.”
“No, I hadn’t planned on doing so. Besides, she’s permanently bonded. ‘Permabonds’ never stray.”
“Well that’s just awful. How much of the mission spec’s will you brief her on?”
Talvi stood for a moment and then looked down the passageway as the Captain turned the corner out of sight. “Just enough for her to understand the urgency for recovering the BOX. Come, I’m going to have my nutrient intake cycle early.”
“Not the most romantic invitation to partake of nutrients, but I accept.” Most times Talvi could not understand how Altea could make such extrapolations from such unrelated information, but he did like it when she talked dirty.
****
I stood in the Personal Hygiene Booth as freshwater flowed over my head and surprisingly weary body. With my hands spread, I was able to support myself evenly as my head grew heavier by the moment. I watched with disinterest as my PHUD displayed my body’s progress at metabolizing so much food and intoxicants in addition to repairing the physical damage from my overexertions when dancing and wrestling. I could have used the HB in my compartment, but I preferred my companion’s. His love of ancient devices converted the booth from a dispenser of Osmotic Sanitary Gel, to a far less practical but much more pleasurable water based shower.
I also preferred the odors in his hygiene area. The smells of clean water and ancient scented soap were very pleasant indeed. Ten shower heads all moving in different directions with individual pressure settings made it possible for me to continue standing without falling down in standby mode. Despite my metabolism working to efficiently absorb what I put into my body and repair the minor damage, I would not have minded my head being removed. I could have overridden my pain receptors, but I wanted to fully experience what the ancients called a ‘hangover.’ I had to agree, the terminology was a perfect description.
“Are you going to stay in there forever Pandora?” The best answer I could muster for my companion was a long groan. I could hear him outside the booth laughing while I said, “Shutdown Hygiene Booth.” Upon the command, the water shutoff and the shower heads retracted. When the booth’s semi-opaque door slid open, I gave a more forlorn groan. Chuckling, Captain Gital reached in to wrap me in a towel. The fluffy white length of material was warm and reminded me of my arrival in the stasis container.
I felt a sudden flush of blood through the entirety of my skin as the Captain embraced me while drying the moisture. “It would be more efficient to allow the booth to absorb the moisture Captain.” Those deep brown eyes of his locked onto mine and then he smiled. “If you wanted efficiency, you wouldn’t be in my part of the compartment using the shower. Besides, isn’t having someone dry you off much better than a desiccation scan?” My answer came abruptly as I kissed my companion.
To my great relief, he did not rebuff me. Instead, the Captain crushed me to his breast as he savagely returned the kiss. Though I knew what to do from my extensive programming in intimate relations, this was my first experience. I closed my eyes and put my PHUD in standby. It did not seem practical to have sensation level meters relaying my stages of stimulation. My knees buckling and the burst of endorphins flooding through my body were very good indicators of how I was reacting!
Still wrapped in the towel, Captain Gital lifted me up and cradled me in his arms. He carried me over to his sleeping array then sat me down upon the soft cushion and colorful blankets reproducing an ancient bed. He folded back the sheets and said, “If you don’t want to stay, you are free to go to your compartment Pandora.” I could not tell whether I crawled under the coverings because of my programming or whether I purely wanted to. Once in, my companion covered me and carefully crawled over my legs to reach the other side.
My heart was pounding. I was glad my PHUD was off or seeing my heart rate levels would have made me disperse a calming agent. I did not want to be calm. Finally, my companion lay beside me and once more I was crushed against him as we kissed more slowly. I reached up and cradled his shaved head and felt those calloused hands run the length of my back. Along with the heat of our bodies, I felt a chill run up my spine similar to when I took my first taste of orange-mango sherbet. I felt my nipples and genitals swell with blood as I thrust my pelvis towards his... but my companion had fallen asleep!
I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs and shake him awake! We had come so close only to stop so abruptly! Yet, I did neither. With my head nestled on his arm I realized how comfortable it was to be so close. My PHUD reengaged and initiated a five second countdown to sleep mode. The compartment lighting began to dim and my companion’s rhythmic breathing lulled my eyes closed. Softly I said, “Good night Captain.” As the last two seconds ticked off I heard, “Call me Gital....”
© 2012 H. Wolfgang Porter. All Rights Reserved.
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