Veronica wished she could travel back in time…
A lot of science fiction movies and vidseries—particularly those that told fictional stories about Unitary starships exploring the galaxy—frequently made use of time travel storylines. This, despite the fact that no evidence had ever been found that time travel—in either direction—was possible, meaning the past was the past…never to be seen again.
Which was too bad for Veronica.
She wanted to travel backwards in time and start the past twenty minutes in this juice bar all over again.
She was certain that Lieutenant Belivet thought she was nothing but a robotic drone with a stick up her ass…a cookie cutter Navy recruit who lacked the ability to relax even when off-duty.
She wanted to start all over and show the lieutenant that she could be fun and laid back…even charming. That she was someone whom it was nice to have a drink with.
Instead, she had been acting as if she was sitting for her fitness report, and happened to have a glass of juice with her.
Lieutenant Belivet’s rank, of course, had something to do with that, but it also hadn’t helped that Belivet just looked so fucking amazing!
The woman was fit! And unlike when they had first met, Lieutenant Belivet’s figure wasn’t hidden by her duty uniform —which, because she was a pilot, was more loose-fitting and baggier than a typical Navy uniform.
No.
This time, Lieutenant Belivet was wearing a sports bra in UASD colors, and matching running shorts, showing off an incredible figure that was equal parts don’t-fuck-with-me strength and I-am-soft-in-all-the-right-places femininity.
Seeing the lieutenant like this had gotten Veronica’s imagination working overtime, cranking out an erotic scenario over the past twenty minutes involving herself, the lieutenant, and repeatedly saying “Yes, ma’am” under very different circumstances.
“So, Vale, I have an idea,” Lieutenant Belivet said now.
“Yes, ma’am?” Veronica replied, her clit pulsing mildly because of that phrase’s connection to her new favorite fantasy.
“I wouldn’t mind having a running buddy,” Lieutenant Belivet continued. “I mean, someone other than my squadmates. I also wouldn’t mind interacting with more of you Navy types.” She shrugged. “It might be good to learn more about this ship. So what do you say? Do you want to run together occasionally? When our shifts allow it?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Veronica said. But she immediately wanted to kick herself. She had said that so eagerly…as if she had been afraid the pilot would rescind the offer if she didn’t answer in one-tenth of a second.
“I mean…” she started again, “…I would enjoy that very much, ma’am.”
“There’s just one problem,” Lieutenant Belivet said.
Veronica blinked.
Problem?
“What problem, ma’am?” she asked.
The pilot leaned back in her seat again, like she had done a little while ago, and Veronica felt helpless as her eyes—on their own volition—ogled her torso. Again.
“Well…” Lieutenant Belivet began. She had her arm on the back of her seat, and was examining her fingernails. “As much as I appreciate proper protocol being observed— especially if I’m being addressed by someone who was an ensign five minutes ago—all this ma’am stuff will start to bother me when I’m off-duty, and make me feel like I’m basically at work.”
Veronica literally could not understand what she was being told.
Her confusion must have been evident on her face because when Lieutenant Belivet looked at her again, she rolled her eyes.
“For fuck’s sake, Vale, I’m saying you can call me Jane when we’re just hanging out like this,” she said.
Veronica’s mouth dropped open.
“I don’t think I can do that, ma’am,” she said.
The very idea was…
Just the thought of it was…
How could she possibly…?
“What do you mean you can’t do that?” Lieutenant Belivet asked.
Veronica blushed.
There were… rules! This was the military! Rank needed to be respected!
The fact that people would address her as lieutenant , and Lieutenant Belivet as lieutenant , only made it seem to civilians as if they were equals. But that was because civilians didn’t know any better.
Lieutenant Belivet’s…lieutenancy was far higher than her own! Even accounting for the fact that she was in a different branch of the Unitary. The idea of using her first name—even off-duty—was inconceivable to Veronica.
Lieutenant Belivet leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table.
“Vale,” she said, “if we’re off-duty, I would prefer a more…casual interaction between us, which means I am not going to jump down your throat if you use my first name! Besides, our lives are stressful enough, don’t you think? Wouldn’t it be nice to hang out, run a few laps together, and just be girls who talk to one another like normal people? You know…using first names?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Veronica said. It all sounded rather lovely, but…
Lieutenant Belivet groaned.
Suddenly, she reached forward and took hold of Veronica’s wrists. Veronica wanted to let out a giggle of excitement at the way the contact sent a shiver of desire shooting through her body.
“Vale, I worry about you,” Lieutenant Belivet said. “You need to learn how to relax.”
She released her wrists and leaned back in her seat once more.
“Yes, ma’am,” Veronica said, feeling foolish but also having no idea how to overcome protocol. She had never hung out socially with such a senior officer—in any military branch. She wondered if Commander Voss would insist on being called Kenzie if she was the one sitting across from her now instead of Lieutenant Belivet. But she quickly determined that she would probably die from the enormity of that honor being extended to her, and so it was probably best not to find out.
Nonetheless, she didn’t want to insult Lieutenant Belivet…
“Perhaps, by the next time we meet to run, I’ll be able to…you know… not be so formal, ma’am,” she said.
Lieutenant Belivet smiled.
“I’ll hold you to that, Vale,” she replied.
Veronica smiled back.
“Yes, ma’am,” she said.
***
Veronica was on duty again when the Fordham was nearing Lieutenant Belivet’s patrol position the day she had made contact with the alien spacecraft.
They could have gotten here more than ten shiphours earlier if the captain had ordered full speed, instead of sixty percent, on the engines, and Veronica had been wondering about that.
She had even made a note to ask Commander Voss that question at an appropriate time. She was hoping it would give her insight into the captain’s thinking—insight she could use herself one day when she commanded a starship of her own.
“Reversion in thirty seconds, Captain,” she called out from her position at the helm.
“Very well,” Captain Yarrum replied.
Veronica still had no idea what was going on. The senior bridge staff had so far not deemed it necessary to include the lowlies in on the situation. This meant that all she could do was not anticipate, and just follow orders.
She watched the final seconds count down on the timer at her station. She kept the fingers of her left hand poised over a large icon on the propulsion screen marked RVRSN. She shouldn’t need to tap it because the Fordham should automatically take itself out of photon-thrust, but on the extreme off-chance that it didn’t, she needed to be ready to act.
But when the timer reached zero, she felt the mighty starship begin to slow quickly, dropping back into normal space.
The captain immediately called for long range scans and instructed Tactical to prepare to raise shields if needed.
Staring out at space through the main viewscreen, Veronica couldn’t help letting her mind wander to imagining Lieutenant Belivet in her Spacehawk, out there in the void, encountering an unknown vessel.
It was easy to consider the same thing happening while here on the Fordham , because the starship made anyone feel safe while aboard her.
But in a Spacehawk? Out here all alone?
It gave Veronica chills just to think about it.
“Meg, report,” Captain Yarrum said, the sound of her voice reminding Veronica to stop daydreaming and focus.
“Comparing the arrangement of the stars on the map with the stars in this sector,” Meg said, “I believe we are at the bottommost circle.”
Map?
This was the first Veronica had heard about a map…
“I also believe I can successfully plot a course to the next circle,” Meg continued. “However, based on my extrapolation of the distances between the stars on the map, it would take us seventy-three point two hours at maximum speed to reach that destination.”
“Understood, Meg,” the captain said.
“Fermion drive?” Commander Voss suggested.
The captain was silent for a few moments.
“No,” she eventually said. “We don’t know what the sensor capabilities of these beings are. I’m worried that if they can detect the unique space-time signature which the fermion drive creates, they’ll be able to deduce what caused it, and then want it for themselves…and I’m not exactly sure I’ll be in a sharing mood.”
Holy shit!
Veronica now deduced that discussions had taken place on the topic of finding the aliens that had contacted Lieutenant Belivet! She was further able to deduce that some kind of map had been given to the lieutenant—a map which apparently led to these aliens!
In other words, an invitation!
This was huge!
For at least two minutes, nothing else was said on the bridge, which meant the captain was thinking. This was one of the things Veronica admired about the commanding officer. When the situation allowed for it, she didn’t make any rash decisions.
Finally…
“Kenzie,” Captain Yarrum said, “I’ve decided we’re going to call this in, like we discussed earlier. I’ll make an announcement to the crew and passengers. Take over here. Get us back home on my mark.”
“Aye, Captain,” Commander Voss acknowledged.
The captain then rose from her chair, Commander Voss immediately taking her place. The captain strode across the bridge and disappeared into her ready room.
“Helm,” Commander Voss said. “Activate the fermion drive. Set a course for Quadrant Two of the Outer Arm in the Milky Way. Once there, lay in a course for Pecula Prime, maximum speed. Wait for my mark.”
“Aye, Commander,” Veronica instantly responded, performing her instructions.
This day had taken an interesting turn, she considered as her fingers danced over the controls.
They were heading back to the Milky Way. Then they were going to Pecula Prime…
Where the Unitary High Command was.