Page 11

Jane glanced up at the ship’s clock on the wall of Sabre Squadron’s ready room.

If Colonel Mbuwe stopped talking right now , Jane would have plenty of time to get out of here and up to Deck 11, where she was meeting Veronica for lunch at an officers’ mess.

According to the information Veronica’s AI had sent her, the JG would have time enough for a meal before having to scurry off and do whatever else lieutenant junior grades do.

Naturally, of course, Mbuwe kept prattling on. Jane wouldn’t have been surprised if the colonel knew of her plans to meet Veronica, and was purposely trying to screw her over. Especially since this briefing was pretty useless. It was focused on reiterating Captain Yarrum’s directive that once the Fordham reached the Pecula System, no one would be allowed to leave the ship—which meant there would be no in-space training exercises. And since the Pecula System was one of the most heavily guarded in the Milky Way, Sabre Squadron would not be needed to fly a protective screen around the starship. Instead, the squadron and its technicians would use the downtime to ensure that every piece of machinery and weaponry they possessed would be ready for “when we meet Rascal’s friends back in Andromeda,” as the colonel phrased it.

“I met some of Rascal’s friends on Earth,” Captain Miranda Blue—call sign Sapphire—said. “If this bunch is anything like those, we’re gonna need more weapons.”

“Hey!” Jane exclaimed, as everyone else laughed. If she wasn’t pressed for time right now, she would gladly tell the story of how Sapphire was just as responsible for the President of the United States being rushed to a secure location that night in Los Angeles, and how it was all just a harmless misunderstanding.

“Alright, that’s all,” Colonel Mbuwe said.

“Thank fuck!” Jane muttered, rising from her seat.

“What was that, Rascal?” Mbuwe asked over the din of everyone else getting up.

“I said Peking duck , ma’am,” Jane responded. “I heard that’s what they’re serving in the officers’ mess on eleven. It’s my favorite.”

“Uh-huh…” Mbuwe replied, her tone indicating that she did not believe a word Jane had said. “Well, enjoy it, Lieutenant.”

“I will, ma’am,” Jane called back, hurrying past her squadmates as they all were heading towards the ready room’s door.

“Jeez, what’s the rush, Rascal?” Sunburn asked, matching Jane’s gait and keeping up with her.

“Guess!” Jane said.

Sunburn groaned, but then chuckled.

“Another woman?” she asked. She then stopped at her Spacehawk. “Save some for the rest of us, you know!” she called after her.

Heading to the main entry doors for Hangar Bay 1, Jane said, “Holly, send a message to Former Ensign Vale, please.”

“When will you stop calling her that, Jane?” Holly asked in her ear.

“When it stops amusing me!” Jane replied. “Just send her this message! On my way…might be a few minutes late.”

“Message sent,” Holly confirmed.

Fortunately, the officers’ mess on Deck 11 was in a straight line up from Hangar Bay 1, but eight decks higher, which meant that all Jane had to do was get on the nearest lift, pray that it didn’t stop on every level between here and there, and she wouldn’t be too late.

At the lift bank, she jabbed the Call button. There were three lifts in this bank, and the screens above each one not only told her where each car was, but also the estimated time until it reached her.

Using this information, she stood in front of the closed doors for the middle lift, as its screen indicated it would arrive in less than twenty seconds, which it did.

“Deck eleven,” Jane said, stepping onboard the conveyance.

Apparently, the stars were with her. The lift made no stops and deposited her on Deck 11 quickly, just a few meters from the entrance to the officers’ mess.

She spotted Veronica easily. It was the blonde hair that made it easy to find her. Veronica was wearing it up this evening, in a very prim and professional manner which suggested authority and capability.

She was dressed in her bridge officer’s duty uniform, including that tunic which fit very well around her breasts.

She stood up from the table she was seated at when Jane approached.

“Good evening, ma’am,” she said, standing with her hands clasped behind her back.

Jane blinked.

Are we back on this again?

But suddenly she remembered that they were both on duty. Not only that, they were in mixed company, with dozens of officers from various divisions nearby in the crowded mess.

Fine…

“Lieutenant,” she greeted her curtly. “Thank you for joining me.”

“Not a problem, ma’am,” Veronica replied.

Then, knowing that Veronica wouldn’t sit until she did, Jane sat down.

“I apologize for being late, Vale,” Jane said.

“Not a problem, ma’am,” Veronica repeated, resuming her seat.

Jane took a quick look at the nearby tables, noting how no one seemed to be paying her and Veronica any mind. Encouraged, she leaned forward slightly.

“It’s good to see you again, Veronica,” she whispered.

Veronica blushed and swallowed.

“Thank you…” she said softly before glancing around also. “Ma’am.”

Jane smiled.

“Fair enough,” she said. “But I know you wanted to call me Jane just now. Admit it…”

Veronica’s right eyebrow twitched upwards ever so slightly.

“I guess we’ll never know, ma’am,” Veronica stated.

Using the controls that were built into the tabletop, they both ordered their meals. The good thing about the officers’ mess, as opposed to the enlisted personnel’s mess, was that table service was available. Not only could they order from their seats, but their food would eventually be brought to them by a robo-steward.

“May I ask you something, ma’am?” Veronica asked once they were done ordering.

“As long as it has nothing to do with that little explosion I caused on Space Depot Forty-Nine,” Jane replied. “There’s litigation pending about that, and I’ve been advised not to discuss it!”

“Ma’am?” Veronica said, her brow furrowed.

“There was a good reason I caused that explosion!” Jane added. “It wasn’t some silly sorority prank!”

“Ma’am, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Veronica told her.

“Well then, never mind,” Jane said. “What is it you want to ask me?”

“What do you think about the captain’s decision to return to the Milky Way to discuss your first contact with the High Command?” Veronica asked.

Jane rolled her eyes. She was about to launch into her opinions about that when she suddenly remembered who she was talking to.

“Wait a minute,” she began, “you’re not going to be running off to tell Commander Voss what I say, are you? Or any of your other lowly buddies, right?”

Veronica’s eyes widened, and she looked as if she was afraid she had offended Jane.

“No ma’am!” she said earnestly.

“This is off the record?” Jane pressed.

“I promise, ma’am,” Veronica replied.

Jane sat completely back in her seat.

“I guess this is something we’ll have to get used to, huh?” she stated. “I mean, you know, if we keep hanging out together…”

Veronica was bridge crew, with access to the most senior officers on this starship. She may be low on the hierarchy of the command structure, but it wasn’t beyond the pale to imagine that she had the ear of the captain. Not only that, but she no doubt had close friends who were also junior officers that she gossiped with.

With this in mind, Jane realized that she needed to be careful about what she said around Veronica. Her instincts were telling her that her companion could be trusted, but it would take time before she knew if she could trust her instincts on this matter.

“I have an idea!” Veronica exclaimed. “If we keep…hanging out, then we’ll just tell each other if we’re uncomfortable answering a question the other one poses.”

Jane laughed.

“Right,” she said. “Because women are so reasonable when they know things are being kept from them…”

Now Veronica laughed.

“Point taken, ma’am,” she said.

“Anyway, I don’t mind answering your question, so long as you don’t share it with anyone else,” Jane said.

“You have my word, ma’am,” Veronica told her.

Jane shrugged.

“Personally, I wouldn’t have bothered coming back to the Milky Way,” she said. “I would have just zipped off to wherever it is those aliens were leading us to see what’s there.” She shrugged again. “But then again, I’m a woman of action.”

“You don’t think the captain is a woman of action?” Veronica asked.

“When it’s called for, sure,” Jane said. “But I also think she’s a starship captain—which makes her part politician, part diplomat, and part mother. She’s overthinking this. We were sent to Andromeda to explore, so let’s explore! What are we doing back home already?”

Veronica shook her head.

“I disagree, ma’am,” she said. “I think under the circumstances, the captain made the right choice.”

Jane smirked.

“That’s because you’re a wannabe starship captain yourself,” she said.

“Begging your pardon, ma’am, but that’s not entirely accurate,” Veronica stated firmly. “It’s because this contact scenario is different from any other in history. An unknown alien species somehow found you and then invited you to find them . It’s certainly a circumstance which merits sharing with the Unitary, if only to alert them to the discovery of a Class 1 species in our neighboring galaxy, and that they’ve made contact.”

“Meanwhile,” Jane said, “those beings are still waiting for us to show up, and who knows…? Maybe by keeping them waiting, we’re starting to piss them off!”

The robo-steward arrived with their food, the women taking their plates from the tray the automaton was carrying.

“Valid point, ma’am,” Veronica said once they were alone again, “but I also don’t believe that such a concern requires completely ignoring established procedure.”

“Established procedure for the Milky Way! ” Jane stressed. “But if we’re in Andromeda, are you telling me that we need to come running home every time something a little strange happens?”

“This wasn’t a little strange, Lieutenant,” Veronica returned. “It was an historic event! Besides, when the captain gives the order, it only takes us seconds to jump from one galaxy to the other because of the fermion drive!”

“And then another three days to reach Pecula…” Jane said.

“Which is better than generations ,” Veronica retorted.

Jane scoffed.

“My point is,” she began, “it’s annoying to think that we—or rather I —experience an historic event, as you call it, and the first thing we do is scamper back here to the Milky Way! I say, if you’re the captain of the only Unitary starship in the Andromeda Galaxy, then own that, and do what you’re there to do! Explore that galaxy!”

“And I say—with all due respect, ma’am—that the captain of a starship shouldn’t just react. Not if she has the time and the means to take a more measured approach,” Veronica said.

Jane smiled.

“Should this count as our first fight, Lieutenant?” she asked impishly. She then burst out laughing at how red Veronica’s face became. “I’m sorry,” she added. “I couldn’t resist.”

Veronica gave a little laugh of her own.

“If you would like it to count as our first fight, ma’am,” she began, “I have no objection. You do outrank me, after all.”

Jane laughed again.

“Well, then I do count it as our first fight,” she said. “What’s more, I declare that I won it.”

Veronica gasped and glared at her playfully.

“You?” she asked. “Begging your pardon, but I believe that anyone would consider that to be incorrect.”

“You’re a woman of your convictions, Vale,” Jane said. “I like that.” She made a gesture towards their food on the table. “We’d better eat before you run out of time.”

***

They both made quick work of their meals. Even officers on a starship were in the habit of eating in a hurry just in case some kind of situation arose that would make getting sustenance secondary. Just because the Fordham was traveling at plus-C didn’t mean any one of countless other things could go wrong—even attempted mutiny.

As they were just about done with their food, Jane made a decision.

“Vale,” she began, “when is the next time you’re completely off-duty? Like…hair down, out of uniform, hanging out at the juice bar off-duty?”

Veronica chuckled.

“Once I’m done with my upcoming bridge shift, ma’am,” she answered. “May I ask why?”

“Yeah,” Jane said, looking at her. “It’s because I want to officially ask you on a date, but I’d rather not do it when you’re in uniform, being all proper-like. It might sound like an order in that case.”

Veronica’s eyes widened and she smiled, which Jane took as a good sign.

“Come on,” Jane said, standing. “I’ll walk you to the bridge.”

They left the table and made their way out of the mess.

“Fuck,” Jane muttered once they were outside the dining hall. “What’s the fastest way to the bridge from here? I never have to go there.”

“This way, ma’am,” Veronica said, heading off to the left.

“I hope I haven’t misread anything, Veronica,” Jane said a few moments later as they walked down a passageway, wanting to go back to first name familiarity. There were many other beings using the passage to get where they were going also, but it was like being on a busy city street…no one was paying them the slightest mind. “If I have, I’m fine with just being friends with you.”

“No!” Veronica exclaimed. “You haven’t! I mean…I’m flattered that you would want to ask me on a date.”

Jane smiled, glad that Veronica was dropping the ma’am bit for now.

“Not until tomorrow…when we’re both out of uniform,” Jane reminded her teasingly.

“Understood,” Veronica said, glancing up at her with a smile.

They walked in silence for several dozen meters, Veronica eventually leading them to a lift bank that formed the hub of a circular junction point where several passageways met.

“May I ask you something?” Veronica asked while they waited for the next upward-bound lift.

“As long as it’s not about the explosion on—” Jane began.

“No, it’s not about Space Depot Forty-nine,” Veronica cut in.

“Or about the Moose Incident in Canada during the Unitary Olympics two years ago,” Jane added.

“Erm…I have no idea…” Veronica said.

Jane waved her off.

“Never mind,” she said. “So what would you like to ask?”

“About asking me on a date,” Veronica began. “Why me? I mean…I’m nobody.”

Jane’s heart broke a little. She wanted to place her hands tenderly on Veronica’s shoulders in a gesture of friendly affection, but they were both in uniform, and it would have been out of place in such a public venue.

She took a step closer to the junior officer.

“You are not nobody,” she said softly. “You are an ambitious and driven woman, who is very smart and funny. I like that. And despite how short you are, you’re charming as well. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Veronica smiled.

“Oh, one other thing,” Jane added. “You’re incredibly pretty also.”

Veronica’s smile grew.

Jane shrugged.

“I just think I would enjoy dating you, Former Ensign Veronica Vale,” she said. “I also think we’d have a lot of fun together. At least, when you’re not calling me ma’am all the time.”

“Sorry, ma’am,” Veronica said with a smirk. “Regulations.”

The lift arrived then, and they boarded it with a handful of others. They stayed silent during the ride up to the bridge deck, the elevator making a couple of stops along the way to discharge the other passengers. When they reached their stop, they exited the lift and then stood just outside of it.

“The bridge is this way, ma’am,” Veronica said, gesturing to her right.

“I’ll leave you here then,” Jane said. Even though it was “nighttime,” she wanted to get back to Sabre Squadron’s hangar and pull her Spacehawk’s L-Band antenna module so the 122 nd ’s techs could fine tune it first thing tomorrow morning. Performing such routine maintenance on her starfighter often relaxed her before bed.

“My answer will be yes, by the way, ma’am,” Veronica said. “When you ask me for a date.”

Jane smiled. Her heart also soared. She didn’t want to count how many women she had asked out for dates in her lifetime, but this one felt different.

“Maybe I’ll tell you the story of the Moose Incident on our date, then,” she said. “I honestly had no idea the fuckers were that fast.”

Veronica laughed.

“I need to report for duty now, ma’am,” she said.

“Go!” Jane ordered. “Heaven forbid the bridge is missing an ensign.”

Veronica narrowed her eyes and then turned and headed down the passageway. Jane watched her, enjoying the view. Former Ensign Vale was certainly well built.

When Veronica turned a corner—thus ending the show—Jane turned around to call for the lift again, but she started when she almost bumped into Commander Voss.

“Oh! Commander!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t see you!”

Commander Voss smiled.

“No harm done, Lieutenant,” she said. “Your attention was elsewhere, in any case. If you’ll excuse me, I need to report to the bridge. Have a wonderful night.”

“You too, Commander,” Jane said, blushing. She pressed the Call button for the lift. Thankfully, a car was already waiting, and its doors opened immediately, allowing Jane to escape right away.