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“She’s an officer!” Raya exclaimed.

Veronica gave her a sidelong glance.

“Technically, we’re officers too,” she stated.

Raya shook her head.

“Yeah, but she’s like up here, and we’re like down here!” she said, holding her right hand about half a meter above her left one.

They were in their quarters, and it was “morning” on the Fordham . Veronica had just returned from her overnight shift on the bridge, and was in the process of getting out of her uniform.

Typically, she worked the Alpha shift—due to her high aptitude scores—but every now and then Commander Voss switched things up, wanting the junior officers to experience shifts all throughout the shipday.

Veronica didn’t mind the Charlie shift so much. While the Fordham was traveling at plus-C, or while the ship was in orbit around a planet or a star, the Charlie shift was typically very quiet and low-angst, and because of that, she was often allowed to study while on the bridge.

However, last night, Lieutenant Gerlach—the Officer-in-Charge—had allowed Veronica to sit in the captain’s chair for three hours, temporarily putting her in charge. There wasn’t much for the OIC to do during such a shift, except to ask for periodic updates on various systems, but Veronica had relished every moment of it before returning to her normal station at the helm.

As soon as she had been relieved half an hour ago, she had immediately had Rosie send a message to Jane, informing her that she was off-duty, but only for the next four hours. The Fordham would be arriving at the Pecula System then, and as a newly-minted lieutenant, she was expected to be back on the bridge.

Fortunately, Jane had messaged her right back, stating that she had two hours free, and suggesting they meet at Cosmic Melons again.

Upon reaching her quarters so that she could quickly change into a casual outfit that was appropriate for someone who was off-duty, she had naturally told Raya the exciting news.

She only wished she had time for a shower, but as it was, this detour to change out of her uniform was going to force her to race to the juice bar to meet Jane in time. Besides, it wasn’t as if bridge duty ever made her sweaty and grimy.

Raya, sitting on her bed, blew out a frustrated breath.

“I wanna date a pilot!” she exclaimed petulantly. “A lot of them are really hot!”

Veronica smiled.

“I’ll ask Jane if she has any single friends,” she said.

“Ooh… Jane , is it?” Raya said.

“I’m off-duty, I’m allowed,” Veronica told her, and then stuck out her tongue at her.

She was still topless, and so she ran her sonic deodorizer over her armpits and then chose a clean smart bra to put on. While the nanomaterial was still shaping itself around her breasts at her preferred settings, she began pulling on a black, V-neck top with ruffled short sleeves. The top was one of her favorites, and its fit did a great job of highlighting her assets up top.

She was ready to leave in a couple of more minutes, after adding polydenim shorts to her outfit.

“How do I look?” she asked Raya.

“Like you’re going on a date with a pilot while I’m about to go do laundry,” Raya replied. “You should let your hair down, though.”

“Och, good point!” Veronica conceded. She stood in front of the mirror and expertly worked her fingers through her hair, removing all the pins that were holding the up-do in place. She was allowed to wear her hair down on duty, but she preferred the more professional mien having it up gave her—and at this stage in her career it was important for her to be taken seriously.

When she was done removing pins, she shook her head briskly, causing all her hair to cascade down, and then used her fingers to fluff it up and give it some semblance of style.

“Perfect,” Raya said.

“Thanks,” Veronica told her. “Okay, I’m off.”

“Don’t forget…” Raya called after her, obviously referring to when they needed to be back on the bridge.

“Like I would ever,” Veronica called back in a singsong voice before exiting the room and hurrying towards the nearest lift tube.

***

She spotted Jane before Jane spotted her.

The pilot was leaning with her back against a wall near the entrance to Cosmic Melons, casually watching the crowds go by. She was wearing smart jeans set to a skinny mode so that they highlighted just how long her legs were, and a sleeveless ribbed turtleneck top which showed off her magnificent shoulders. Her auburn hair was in a ponytail, and with it up like that it drew attention to how graceful her neck was.

And I have a date with her!

“Hi!” Veronica said once she approached her.

“Hi!” Jane said, looking down at her.

They were both wearing flats, but Veronica made a mental note that in the future, when possible, she ought to consider at least putting on one of several pairs of boots she owned with a chunky heel, in order to give herself some lift and minimize the height difference a little.

“You look lovely,” Jane told her.

“Thanks, but I was so rushed!” Veronica admitted. “I literally tore off my uniform, threw this outfit on, and hurried out of my quarters.”

“Well, it worked,” Jane told her.

They headed into the juice bar, and while waiting for their turn to order, Jane added, “I promise that the next time we get together, I will suggest someplace different.”

“Maybe dinner?” Veronica offered. “On me.”

Jane quirked her eyebrow.

“Wait…are you suggesting we eat dinner out somewhere, and that you’ll pay for it…or that dinner will be served on you?” she asked. “Because I’m fine with either option.”

Veronica laughed.

“That we eat out somewhere,” she clarified. “But good to know that you’re…flexible about the particulars.”

Jane laughed, and Veronica felt rather proud of herself for having come up with something clever in response.

This little interaction also made her wonder how quickly Jane liked to move things along in a relationship, vis-à-vis sex. Quite a while ago, Veronica had learned that all starfighter pilots adhered to a motto…some of them even going so far as having it tattooed on their bodies: Vive hodie quia cras morieris .

Live today because tomorrow you might die.

Well…if Jane did consider that her philosophy of life, and wanted to apply it to advancing things in their romance, Veronica decided she had no problem with it. Life was short, and life was also tenuous while traveling through space. There were so many things that could go wrong out here—even in a starship as advanced as the Fordham . And although Veronica had always hoped that she would eventually find herself in a long-term and loving relationship with a woman, she saw no reason why that couldn’t still happen if she and someone started in with all the fun stuff right away.

And when it came to Jane…Veronica wanted to start in with all the fun stuff right away.

They ordered their drinks—Veronica going for the Tethys Sunrise again because it was beyond yummy—and found a vacant table.

“Okay,” Jane began once they were seated, “since this is a date, I suppose I’d better start learning more about you, other than that you were an ensign five minutes ago.”

“Oh my days,” Veronica groaned. “Are you ever going to overlook the ensign thing?”

“Probably not,” Jane told her. “If we’re still on speaking terms when you become a captain, I’ll still call you Former Ensign Veronica Vale.”

Veronica laughed.

“As long as you don’t do it on my bridge,” she said. “And why wouldn’t we be on speaking terms by the time I become captain? Are you a terrible girlfriend?”

Jane gasped.

“I am a delightful girlfriend!” she exclaimed. “Let’s see…I’m attentive…romantic…a good listener—at least when I’m not talking about myself— and …well, I’ve been told I have skills.”

Veronica cocked an eyebrow

“Piloting skills?” she asked.

“Those too,” Jane replied.

They both laughed.

“So…really…tell me about Former Ensign Veronica Vale,” Jane prodded.

“Well…I used to be an ensign,” Veronica replied, making Jane laugh again. It was a sound Veronica enjoyed a lot.

She then talked about her childhood in Coventry, and how she had always been a space geek.

“My mum is the Head of Software Engineering for Starship Environmental Systems—for those designed on Earth anyway,” she explained. “When I was a kid, she would take me up to any starships that were in orbit if she needed to install upgrades or even brand-new enviro operating systems on them.”

“And that got you hooked,” Jane stated.

Veronica nodded.

“It did,” she said. “The very first time I was on a starship—it was the Olinville —I was eleven, and I just knew then that I wanted to command one of these things.”

“And what does your mother think?” Jane asked.

“She’s all for it,” Veronica said, starting to laugh. “In fact, when I become a captain, she wants to be able to call me up and have me shoot my dad with the phased-energy lasers anytime he gets on her nerves.”

“I love it!” Jane said. “That has got to be one of the best perks of being a starship captain…having the ability to disintegrate people.”

“Well, they discourage that at Starship Captain School,” Veronica said, “but, yes, I see your point.”

She spoke some more about herself, mainly in answer to questions Jane posed to her…

What was she like as a teenager? Very nerdy, a rules follower, exceptional marks in school.

When did she realize she was gay? Suspicions as early as eleven. Confirmed when she was thirteen and she couldn’t stop having very erotic dreams about Cassidy Black, who was an extremely popular Canadian actor who appeared in a lot of teen-targeted movies.

Who was her first girlfriend? In her fantasies, Cassidy Black. In real life, Ines Porter, when they were both fifteen, who went to school with her.

Favorite color? Green.

“I agree with you about Cassidy Black, by the way,” Jane eventually said. “She kept my teenage mind occupied as well.”

“You have good taste,” Veronica said, tipping her juice glass in her direction.

“I do indeed,” Jane replied, giving her a look that was evidently meant to show that it wasn’t Cassidy Black she was thinking of, making Veronica blush.

To distract herself, she asked Jane the same set of questions, her eyebrows shooting up when Jane told her that her favorite color was chartreuse yellow.

“Why can’t you just say yellow?” Veronica asked.

“Because chartreuse is a specific shade of yellow,” Jane told her. “Saying yellow doesn’t give the listener a true understanding of my preference.”

Veronica rolled her eyes.

“Whatever,” she said, laughing. She was learning that Jane was something of a card—as her dad would say, but she liked it.

However…

Jane’s somewhat flip attitude at times did make Veronica wonder something, and she decided that before this date was over, she was going to require an answer to a question…

***

They ended up remaining at Cosmic Melons for close to two hours.

Veronica took it as a good sign that it didn’t feel like two hours. In fact, it was only until Rosie spoke in her ear—following instructions Veronica had given her earlier—reminding her that she had wanted to be back at her quarters in time for a power nap prior to her next bridge shift, that Veronica realized how much time had passed.

Explaining this to Jane after Rosie’s reminder, her date nodded.

“I totally understand,” Jane said. “I should probably get some rest also. Even though we’re flying into Pecula, who knows if the amazing women of Sabre Squadron will be called upon to save the day?”

Veronica understood her point.

“Aren’t there men in your squadron also?” she asked, giving Jane a bit of side-eye.

Jane waved that off.

“We refer to them as ‘honorary women,’” she said. “And since they’re vastly outnumbered, they don’t argue. Can I walk you back to your quarters?”

Veronica smiled as they both got up from their seats.

“So courteous,” she said. “But I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” They started heading out of Cosmic Melons. “Officers of your rank never come to our section, unless it’s for an inspection. Everyone there would positively lose their minds and panic.”

She didn’t add that it wouldn’t help her standing in the junior officer barracks section…

Of course it was going to get out that she was seeing a higher-ranking officer socially—Raya had probably already blabbed about it to anyone she could find. There was nothing Veronica could do about that. Besides, she wasn’t the only one dating up . However, if she brought said officer to their domain—which was considered a safe space—she’d become an outcast.

The two of them headed towards the nearest lift tubes, but Veronica stopped well before they reached them.

“May I ask you something?” she said. “And I swear it has nothing to do about Depot Forty-nine or moose.”

“Or what’s known as the Flashing Incident,” Jane said off-handedly.

Veronica blinked.

“Flashing…?” she began. “Wait…as in your boobs? ”

“There was a perfectly logical explanation,” Jane said calmly. “It was during a battle.”

Veronica stared at her.

“How…?” she squeaked. “I mean… logical …?”

She shook her head.

“Never mind!” she exclaimed. “I’m not sure I want to know! In any case, that wasn’t my question.”

“Then what was?” Jane prodded.

Veronica took a breath.

“This is more than just an arrangement , right?” she asked.

Jane smiled.

“Oh, you mean is this more than us being sex buddies?” she said. She paused. “I hope so. I know I seem like a goof, but I would like to try to turn this into something if you’re willing to give me a chance.”

Veronica couldn’t believe her ears.

Give her a chance?

She felt like she was the one being given a chance. She also couldn’t believe this was happening. A handful of shipdays ago, the closest she was to any kind of romance was occasionally having sex with Logan…now she was officially dating someone she felt was one of the sexiest women on the Fordham .

“I will gladly give you a chance,” she said, deadpan, making Jane laugh.

“Of course, with your schedule…” Jane said leadingly.

Veronica rolled her eyes. Talk about an obstacle!

“Yes, my schedule,” she muttered.

“It’s terrible!” Jane pointed out, chuckling. “It’s worse than mine. I think if I was fighting off an armada of Merkonian Punishers singlehandedly, I’d have more time than you,” she added, referring to one of the Unitary’s avowed enemies, and their latest class of starfighters. “But…we can make this work.”

“I’d like that,” Veronica said.

“Of course…” Jane began, “under the circumstances—that is, your crappy schedule—I think I’d better get in our first kiss while I have a chance.”

Veronica’s heart jumped. This day would be perfect if it could end with a kiss!

But where?

The thought of Jane inviting her to her quarters was intimidating. What if the other officers in that section saw them?

Even worse…those other officers would be pilots! Pilots were the worst when it came to making tawdry wisecracks and suggestive comments! The problem was she was going to have to deal with that eventually, wasn’t she? After all, if she and Jane ever expected to have sex…

The Fordham had plenty of places where two people could sneakily have sex—and that could be exciting—but Veronica would much rather be able to have her way with the tall starfighter pilot in the privacy of said pilot’s quarters.

Looking around this busy area just outside of Cosmic Melons, she spied a non-descript gray doorway about ten yards away. By its color and markings, she knew it was an access point for what were known as interior automatic subsystems. The best part was that access was limited only to specific subdivisions of Maintenance…as well as bridge and engineering crew.

“Follow me,” she told Jane, taking her hand and leading her to the door. When they were in front of it, she read the door’s identifier, and said, “Rosie, grant access to IAS-15C.”

The gray door slid open, and the two women stepped inside.

They found themselves in a dimly-lit passageway which—like most of the behind-the-scenes parts of the starship—was very utilitarian and functional. Along both walls were access panels to various systems, each with blinking lights and glowing status screens. Overhead, the ceiling, as it were, consisted of about a dozen cabling conduits of different sizes, which followed the passage for its entire length.

From the looks of it, Veronica and Jane were all alone. That could change, Veronica knew, but the likelihood of anyone else needing to be in this exact IAS passage at this exact moment, on this enormous starship, was practically impossible.

She looked at Jane and shrugged.

“Not exactly romantic, but…” she began before Jane put a finger over her lips, shushing her.

“Shut up, Ensign,” Jane said softly, bending her neck to bring their faces close together.

The instant their lips made contact, Veronica felt as if she was melting. With her eyes closed and her arms raised up to wrap around Jane’s shoulders, she couldn’t help but believe that she and Jane had been kissing for years! They were just so good at it together! None of that initial awkwardness that typically came with two new sets of lips meeting for the first time and trying to…figure things out.

Instead, she could honestly swear that she and Jane had done this before.

Maybe in a previous life…

She and Jane moaned at the same time when their tongues began swirling around one another, and she felt Jane pull her even closer, which made Veronica’s nipples harden in her bra.

Finally, the kiss broke, but Veronica didn’t pull her mouth far away.

“I’m a lieutenant, ma’am,” she sighed before capturing Jane’s lips again and getting them started on another long kiss…

***

Not too long after, Veronica’s power nap before her bridge shift was interrupted by her waking up and realizing that she was literally on the cusp of having an orgasm.

No surprise, really…

She had been having quite the erotic dream about Jane.

No surprise, really…

Their kissing earlier had gotten her core ignited—to the point where she had even contemplated asking Jane to fuck her right there in the IAS access passage.

Now, with her eyes wide open, she jammed her hand into sleep pants, discovering that she was wet , and that her pussy was just about ready to explode into orgasm.

Fortunately , she had lowered the privacy screen—which dropped down from the bulkhead—around her bed before falling asleep, so at least she couldn’t be seen.

Unfortunately , the privacy screen wasn’t soundproof…

Lying on her side, her fingers already sticky and rubbing her clit, she knew this was going to be a good one and that when she came, she was going to need to do so quietly, no matter how strongly it hit her.

Luckily, years of having to share living quarters with other women had given her time to practice the art of climaxing silently…

She started coming less than twenty seconds after waking up—that’s how close her dream had gotten her. And it was a strong one.

With both of her lips sucked between her teeth, and her eyes squinted tightly shut, she stopped breathing as the orgasm punched its way out of her core to spread its pleasure throughout the entirety of her lower half.

Her fingers rubbed her clit furiously, pressing down on the button firmly, eking out every possible iota of delight from her pussy, which by now was swollen and streaming out arousal onto her thighs.

Finally, she had to breathe, but again her practice paid off. She didn’t let out the contained air all at once. That would have given her away to anyone listening. Instead, she let it out very slowly and quietly as the climax continued wracking her center and made her eyes water.

When it was over, she breathed in a quiet gulp of air and let it out just as silently.

In her sleep pants, her right hand was covered with her essence while it slowly stroked her throbbing vulva, easing it down from the high.

She lay still for a few minutes, recovering, and then removed her hand from her pants and looked at her wrist all-in-one.

The device told her that she had plenty of time to prepare for her bridge shift, but only if she got a move on quickly.

As usual, she had to contend with the problem of a sticky hand. She didn’t know how other women handled this issue, but hers was rather basic: she used the hem of her sleep shirt to wipe her come off her hand. It meant she would have to immediately toss this shirt into her laundry pile, which kind of sucked because it had been clean and she preferred wearing sleep shirts at least twice before washing them, but c’est la vie, she had another clean one for next time.

Raising the privacy screen, she got out of bed and immediately groaned.

The room was empty. Where her two roommates were, she had no idea, although Raya needed to also be getting ready to join her on the bridge.

But discovering that she was alone meant that she could have happily cried out when she came just a few minutes ago, and that was frustrating to learn now.