In her quarters on Subdeck 7, which she shared with two other junior-level officers, Veronica read the message on her all-in-one tablet.
“Yes!” she exulted, reclining on her bed with her back propped up by her pillow.
Raya, one of her roommates, who was also off-duty, looked up at her. She was lying on her stomach, her torso propped up on her elbows, with her legs bent behind her, and her ankles crossed in the air. Veronica knew her friend was studying the tactics used by Captain Naomi Birnbaum of the UCS Evergreen , during the Perseid Strife of 2991. Even though that battle was over three-hundred years ago, Birnbaum’s maneuvers were still required reading for all Unitary bridge officers, regardless of species.
“What’s up?” Raya asked.
“She said yes!” Veronica said, beaming at Raya.
“Who said yes?” Findara, their other roommate, still an ensign like Raya, asked. She was a Lydig, and just at that moment she had emerged from the bathroom after taking a shower. She was still nude, but toweling her golden-hued skin off.
Veronica flicked her eyes over Findara’s form, feeling unable to not do so.
Lydigs—despite the lustrous shine of their skin—were very human-like. Their faces were typically more angular, and their torsos were longer, but other than that, Nature had constructed them much like people on Earth.
This evolutionary coincidence extended to their secondary sexual characteristics.
Which meant Lydig females had breasts similar to those of human women.
And Findara had lovely ones.
Perfectly shaped, and of the size Veronica found most appealing—in that large B/small C range.
She had always thought Lydig women were gorgeous, but she had yet to do anything…sexual with one—though she had friends who had. In fact, one of her besties from her childhood in Coventry was set to marry a Lydig—according to a vidletter her mother had sent her before the Fordham had traveled to Andromeda.
Of course, she hadn’t done much sexually with anyone—human, Lydig, or any other species. At present, the proverbial notches didn’t number that many. Which was fine—she was only twenty, after all. Nonetheless, she was hoping—at least for pride’s sake—to eventually amass a higher number of lovers.
Unless, of course, she found her Special One before then. That was the name she had been using for the love of her life ever since she was eleven-years-old and realized she liked girls.
“Lieutenant Belivet,” Veronica answered Findara. “She’s agreed to meet with us to talk about her first contact experience.”
“Nice!” Findara said. She had also been on the bridge during that whole Where Is Sabre Seven? episode. “That was a good idea you had, Veronica.”
“That’s why she’s a JG and we’re not,” Raya said in a singsong voice, her eyes back on her tablet.
“ Yet ,” Veronica said.
She had been the first in her BOTC class to earn the promotion to lieutenant junior grade. She knew Raya eventually would, as well as Findara. Others she wasn’t so sure about. She expected that perhaps as many as six ensigns on the current BOTC roster would eventually be reassigned to other divisions on the Fordham .
Bridge officer training was the most intensive track a Unitary Naval officer could choose.
Knowing how to operate and possibly command a capital ship was not an easy endeavor, and it came with a lot of responsibility—not the least of which was the decision over life and death.
Many who aspired to it just weren’t cut out for it, and they were usually identified very quickly.
And Veronica knew that her relatively quick promotion meant nothing. It was not a guarantee of anything. She could wash out of the program next week if she didn’t continue applying herself.
In fact, her promotion just meant that things were going to get harder for her…
“So have you ever spent time with starfighter pilots?” Findara asked.
By now, she was on her bed, dressed in a long nightshirt, brushing her long brown hair.
Veronica nodded.
“Some Sparrow pilots,” she said. “On Earth, at the Academy. I’ve also bumped into a few of them here onboard.”
Findara smirked.
“Sparrow pilots don’t count,” she said. “I meant the…what’s the word you use? For kepven…? ”
Veronica dug the translation out of her memory.
“Elite,” she said. “High quality.”
Since Lydigs were one of the founding members of the Unitary, Veronica had taken it upon herself to try to learn their language. Her AI, Holly, could of course translate any Unitary language in real-time, but she preferred to try to learn on her own. Being at least somewhat multilingual was an asset to any bridge officer.
“Right… elite ,” Findara said. “Have you spent time with any elite starfighter pilots…of the caliber of Sabre Squadron?”
Now Veronica shook her head.
“Never had the chance,” she responded.
This was true. She was a lowly starship officer who didn’t run in the same circles as the top-tier starfighters, who were often viewed as having some kind of demigod status.
“Why?” she asked.
Findara waved one of her hands in front of her torso. The gesture was the Lydig equivalent to shrugging.
“They’re arrogant and full of themselves,” Raya answered, interrupting her studying again. “They think they can walk on water—or whatever that stupid expression is. They’re almost as bad as some starship captains.”
Veronica smirked at her.
“Don’t you want to become a starship captain one day?” she teased.
“Yes,” Raya admitted. “And when I do, I will start to walk on water, and everybody had better realize that!”
They all laughed.
“Well, look…” Veronica began, “I’m not interested in the lieutenant’s personality, okay? I’m just happy that she agreed to meet with us.”
“You’ll be interested in her legs,” Raya said snarkily, looking down at her tablet once more.
Veronica glared at her.
“And what is that supposed to mean?” she prodded.
“That you like legs,” Raya said, her voice tinged with innocence. “And all of those women in Sabre Squadron have legs to spare.” She looked up. “Commander Voss had assigned me to oversee delivery of some equipment for them a couple of months back…” She blew out a breath. “They were all in the hangar at the time. Sapphic Nirvana…” She rolled her eyes before returning them to her tablet. “Of course, none of them would spare me a glance.”
“You’re not gay,” Veronica pointed out. “So what difference did it make?”
“But still!” Raya exclaimed. “It would’ve been nice to get a few leering looks from them! I spent the rest of that shift feeling ugly!”
***
A couple of shipdays later, the Fordham was still stopped in the same region of space.
Through overheard conversations on the bridge during her previous two shifts, Veronica had learned that the captain was waiting here until Meg, the ship’s AI, was finished analyzing something related to a transmission. Her instincts told her that it had to do with Lieutenant Belivet’s first contact experience, but she knew better than to ask. Ever since that event, things had been somewhat tense on the bridge, with the senior officers exhibiting a heightened sense of vigilance.
Right now, however, Veronica and the rest of her BOTC class were in Classroom 25, on Deck 17.
Commander Voss had rearranged everyone’s duty schedule so that they could attend this question-and-answer session with Lieutenant Belivet, advising her charges to take advantage of the opportunity by listening closely, asking questions, and then determining how the information they would gain could be applied to the role of a bridge officer.
There were still a few minutes until Lieutenant Belivet was due to arrive, but Voss had also told them that she expected all of them to be waiting for the pilot, not the other way around. She had also added that anyone who was late would be drummed out of the course.
Veronica—as the organizer and de facto leader of this bunch—stood at the front of the classroom, ready to greet the lieutenant when she arrived.
Everyone else was seated, and per Veronica’s instructions, were keeping conversations to a minimum. She didn’t want the lieutenant walking into a room full of boisterous ensigns. Chances were Belivet already considered ensigns—and probably JGs as well—to be a bunch of fuckwits.
Suddenly, the door to the classroom hissed open.
Fuck me!
Veronica worked very hard at keeping the expression on her face neutral as in walked an absolutely gorgeous woman. She had long curly auburn hair, stunning brown eyes, and was…tall. She also looked incredibly young! Like, ensign-young! Veronica suddenly wanted to know her backstory, and how she had become such an accomplished starfighter pilot.
The lieutenant was wearing her flight suit, and that only made her more attractive to Veronica because it gave her an air of strength and invincibility. It also made Veronica—who considered herself pretty fearless—to want to be shielded and protected by her.
And it was fucking hot.
Fortunately, she remembered herself and stood up straighter, with her hands crossed behind her back. All of the ensigns in the classroom also quickly stood up, and Veronica was pleased that they did so in such perfect unison.
Lieutenant Belivet stopped just inside the doorway and surveyed the scene.
She didn’t seem impressed.
Veronica wanted to roll her eyes.
Air and Space Defense!
“As you were,” Lieutenant Belivet instructed the class with a sigh.
All of the ensigns sat back down.
“Good morning, ma’am,” Veronica greeted the pilot. “Welcome. I’m Lieutenant Junior Grade Veronica Vale.”
Belivet approached and stood in front of her. Veronica had to tilt her head back to meet her eyes.
“Lieutenant Jane Belivet,” Lieutenant Belivet said. Her voice seemed a bit raspy. “122 nd Skyborne Rangers, Sabre Squadron. So you’re the one who sent that message.”
Veronica nodded.
“Yes, ma’am,” she responded. “Thank you for—”
“Do you have any coffee?” Lieutenant Belivet asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Veronica replied. She gestured to Ensign Pelliver, who was closest to the coffee urn which she had thought to order from Events Catering.
“How do you take it, ma’am?” the ensign asked.
“Black,” Lieutenant Belivet replied. “Oh…um… please , Ensign.”
Veronica was getting the impression that Belivet had had a long night. And even though there could be a thousand different reasons why a starfighter pilot could have had a long night, Veronica couldn’t help but wonder if another person was the reason.
A girlfriend, perhaps. Or—stars forbid—a boyfriend.
Pelliver handed the mug of coffee to Lieutenant Belivet who immediately began drinking it.
After a couple of sips, she briskly shook her head.
“Long night…” she muttered. She then blinked her eyes rapidly, as if feeling the effects of the caffeine. “Okay…” she went on. “You all want to hear about my meeting that unspac.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Veronica said. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us.”
Lieutenant Belivet gave a close-lipped smile, the first of any kind of smile since stepping into the classroom.
“You bet,” she said. Then, something…changed in her eyes. To Veronica, it seemed as if only now—with a jolt of caffeine in her system—did Lieutenant Belivet really notice her.
And Veronica’s heart pumped a bit harder because the pilot’s eyes did this weird thing where they simultaneously softened yet became flirtatiously edgy.
Fuck! Does she like what she sees?
She told herself to stop being silly.
“Um…” she began. “…if you…well…I’ve provided you with the option of sitting…” She indicated a bar stool she had requisitioned from Stores. “…or if you’d like, you can just stand.”
“How about I just do this?” Lieutenant Belivet suggested. “And you all just fire away with your questions.”
With that, she leaned against the instructor’s desk, with her bum resting on the edge of it, her legs stretched out before her, and her arms crossed.
Veronica swallowed.
“As you wish, Lieutenant,” she answered.
And you look so bloody sexy standing like that!