Temporary Duty (37 page)

After that they got on average one new item per meal. Zeep would bring something, tell them the name, and bustle off while they tried it. Some of it they liked, some they didn’t; none of it made them sick, although almost all the humans had weak allergic reactions to one or more items.

That was remarkable when you thought about it. Peters asked, and Zeep explained: «Oh, it all has to be tested, that’s why you don’t get it all at once.» He shrugged. «If it was only us we wouldn’t need to test, we know the enkheil well. But you
humans
are new.» Peters and Todd shared raised eyebrows. Apparently there was a little more to food service on
Llapaaloapalla
than met the eye.

Peters and Tollison, along with a few others, got called away from the exercise sessions regularly, because Chief Warnocki wanted to get started on the forward bay door. They got out the bucket lift and turned to; the mechanism wasn’t in quite as bad shape as the aft one had been, probably because the Grallt’s operations pattern used it less, but several gear teeth were cracked, and the thing needed oil like a last-century automobile did. Dhuvenig’s admonition not to open the doors during high phase left them with no way to test it until Cleeves suggested that they disconnect the drive chain from the door itself. "We know the door moves," he observed.

"Yeah, and the carrier bearings on that are next on the list for grease," Warnocki growled. "But yeah, you’re right. We’ll do it that way." It took an extra watch, but at the end they were confident that the doors would work when needed.

The enkheil had used lasers, or something like lasers, in the mock combat, and the Navy blue paint on the planes had absorbed the energy just fine, thank you. They had blotches where the paint had been burned off, and those had to be cleaned, filled, and repainted. Peters wasn’t involved in that, but Todd was, and when he remarked about it, Peters explained what the enkheil had told him: "They reckon it must be the same thing, but they ain’t got a clue what it really is, because they buy ‘em off the shelf and they’re all sealed up, so you can’t tell how they work."

"Sounds like an opportunity for us," Todd observed. "Maybe we could sell them cheaper or something."

Peters snorted. "Hnh. Just don’t let the Master Chief hear you talkin’ like that. That’s officer business, accordin’ to him, and enlisted better keep their nose out."

Todd grinned. "What I think is, Master Chief Joshua wants your ass."

"We don’t get on too well, and that’s a fact."

During the workups for the voyage Peters and Todd hadn’t seen a great deal of one another, each being pulled into the orbit of his particular specialty despite the strong association formed by their being tossed together and into a strange situation. Now that they were roommates they had begun to take up where they’d left off, taking chow together, talking over the day, and grousing about conditions.

They also began, tentatively at first, to resume their exploration of
Llapaaloapalla
. Peters’s command of the Trade language and Todd’s less elegant ability gave them access to anywhere that wasn’t private or guarded, and much that was. Neither of them asked or received permission, either from the Grallt or their own hierarchy, and they made no explanations and filed no reports. They didn’t discuss their wanderings in public, except
sotto voce
over meals, and although they weren’t exactly furtive, they did take reasonable precautions to avoid questions that were sure to be awkward.

The section below the operations bay had about the same volume as the bay, but was divided into decks; the upper two were warrens of freezers, some of which weren’t working, and the rest of it held long narrow trays mounted on chain drives. A gang of Grallt would manhandle a tray onto the start end of the chains, which would carry it slowly away. As it moved, it would be filled with dirt–or some mixture plants would grow in–and seeded, and before it reached the end would support a luxuriant growth, which was harvested by one crew before another wrestled the tray off the chains, cleaned it, and returned it to start for recycling. The overheads of those compartments were forests of lights of different types, and the illumination there was almost blinding; many of the Grallt working there wore caps and tinted lenses, the lenses depending from headbands or cap visors, which made sense.

«Why this one not works?» Todd asked, looking into an empty compartment in the freezer section.

«The mechanism is broken,» said Gellin, the sub-supervisor who had consented to guide them. «We could use the space, but it isn’t a large problem. When we next go to Kakikya someone will repair it.»

«How should it work?» Peters asked, looking with interest at a small box or cabinet near the door. «Is this the control?»

Gellin lifted her brows. «That’s right, you
humans
like to fix things. Yes, that should be the control. Except that when I move the lever–» she suited action to the words «–nothing happens, see?»

Peters had his multitool out and was removing left-handed screws to expose the mechanism. «Are you sure you know what you’re doing?» Gellin asked, sounding dubious.

«Not always,» he said cheerfully. «It doesn’t work, so I can hardly break it, can I?»

«I suppose so.»

"Todd, take a look. Looks like a pretty normal thermostat t’me."

"Yep, there’s the coil." The younger sailor twiddled the lever. "And this tightens and loosens it, instead of just shifting it back and forth. Makes sense, if you can’t depend on gravity. Where’s the switch–Ah. What’s this?"

"This" was a ball of fluff that had worked its way into the mechanism, jamming a bit that was intended to move. Mindful of the possibility of electric shock–ship’s power was 103 volts, a bit over 59 Hertz, well within the adaptability of computer power supplies and enough to blow your fillings out if you got across it–Peters put on an airsuit glove and used the multitool’s pliers to gently ease the foreign body out. Something clicked, there was a fat spark from deeper in the case, and air began coming out the grilles. "There we go," he said, holding the tool up with the fluff caught in the points.

«Incredible,» Gellin breathed. «You made that look so easy.»

«Sometimes it is easy. Sometimes it’s much more difficult,» Peters warned.

Gellin waved that off. «Yes, I know the principle,» she said. «Can you show me what you did?»

Todd took it upon himself to explain a bimetallic thermostat, and showed Gellin where the insulating fluff had stopped it from operating properly. The blast of arctic air was kicking up dust, already rapidly lowering the temperature in the room. The
kathir
suits kept their bodies comfortable, but faces and hands were getting a bit chilled. «I must tell my first about this,» Gellin said. «Shut the machine off for now; the room must be cleaned before we can begin using it. No, don’t worry about the cover,» she said to Peters, who had begun fiddling with it. «I will put it back in a little while.»

«No trouble,» Peters said as he put in the last screw. «I’ll turn it off.» He moved the lever to the left, at a guess; the cold blast stopped abruptly. «There.»

Gellin took them to meet her supervisor, a portly male about Znereda’s age called Lindalu, which Todd and Peters took for granted. Lindalu thanked them without effusiveness and made a suggestion to Gellin that they didn’t hear. On their way out of the freezer section she popped into one of the rooms and emerged with a handful of objects. They were probably fruits, looking a little like apples at first glance. Inside the skin they were soft, sweet, and creamy, like custard, with a center of tough fiber holding hard pits. The two sailors devoured theirs in a few bites, and Gellin only smiled and fetched another apiece. «Good, aren’t they? But we don’t have enough for everybody, so they are special treats. This occasion qualifies.»

«It was not a major effort,» Peters demurred, but Gellin only smiled and went away in the abrupt Grallt fashion. The sailors went their own way, munching custard fruit.

* * *

Word began to spread, and the humans, who not only fixed things but explained them afterwards, were welcome almost everywhere. Even Linvenig, the engineering officer who had tossed them out when they intruded before, was hospitable; he was Lindalu’s brother or something, and cordially led them on a tour of the engineering pits. He did not explain the
zifthkakik
. «Nobody can explain the zifthkakik,» he told them. «Nobody knows how they work except the people who made them. Sorry about that.» The idiom translated perfectly. «I’d like to know myself. So would many people,» he observed wryly. «But I don’t see it happening soon.»

«Us too,» said Todd cheerfully.

They began to get invitations. Some of the living quarters had kitchens, and those were typically occupied by families with children; they had several meals with one or another of the Grallt they met. They were on their way to a family meal when a call came from behind. «Peters, is that you? Wait a minute.»

Peters turned to look. «Oh, it is you!» Peet exclaimed, clapping her hands together delightedly. She was wearing a sort of shift or singlet, with straps over the shoulders, ending well above mid-thigh, made of something thin enough to let nipples show. «I’ve been thinking about you,» she said. «You never came to see me.» In a few steps she had Peters in a close embrace and was giving him a straight-faced kiss. After a moment or two of that, she moved back a little, staying well within personal space, and looked down. «I see I made the right impression this time,» she said with a broad grin.

«Peet, I–»

«Never mind, we can talk later.» She seized his hand. «You go ahead,» she said to Todd and their host. «I’ll bring him back later. Or maybe not.» This with another grin and a quick peck on the lips.

«Not problem,» said Todd, with amusement in his tone; Peters couldn’t look around, being trapped, but could imagine the grin. "Get on with it," the younger sailor advised in English, definitely amused. "I’ll expect a blow-by-blow account later."

"You wish," Peters said, and heard the other laugh.

«Enough chat,» said Peet firmly, and towed him to the door of her room. It was set up for two, a bit bigger than the sailors’ and quite a bit more cluttered. «Get out,» she said without ceremony to the other occupant, another female. «Go visit with Dell or something. I want to
gabble
this guy.»

Peters hadn’t heard the word before, but the context was clear; at some point he’d decided the Hell with it, go with the flow. The other girl was wearing a garment similar to Peet’s; she stood and stretched, looking at Peters with a smile, then turned to face away and began pulling on trousers, the lower half of the pants and shirt outfit some Grallt wore. «You aren’t supposed to be looking at her,» Peet said. «You’re supposed to be looking at me.» She struck a pose for a moment, arms high, the stretch making her breasts more prominent. «There. Now get out of that suit while I clear this stuff away.»

The other girl brushed by, pausing at the door. «I may want a turn later,» she warned.

«Go
gabble
yourself,» Peet said, but both girls were grinning. «And get out. I’ll come and get you when we’re done.» The door clicked behind her as she left. Peet shoved a pile of clothing into a locker, forced the door shut and latched the handle, then began twitching bedclothes into position. «Haven’t you got any further than that?» she asked when she’d finished making the bed and turned. «Here, I’ll help you.»

Peters had unclasped his buckle, but had been too bemused by the situation to go farther. Removing the belt deactivated the suit; only the wearer could do that without special precautions. Once deactivated it could be opened by anyone, which Peet proceded to demonstrate by tugging the "zipper" to open the top section. The two of them began pulling it down; when it got past his groin she squealed. «Wonderful!» she said. «But we can play later. Toss it on the other bed.»

Peters freed his legs, tossed the suit as instructed, and turned to find Peet pulling the shift over her head. She lay on the bunk, spread her legs slightly, and grinned. «In case you weren’t quite sure, it goes right there,» she said, pointing.

Peters managed with a minimum of fumbling. Nothing was seriously out of place, although he wasn’t experienced enough to make detailed comparisons. «Khhh,» she said, a long throaty exhalation as he entered. «Khhh, so good. Now move.»

He moved. She quickly caught the rhythm, and they moved together. Her breath started coming in deep gasps, with low, back of the throat sounds like growls, Ghrrr, aaahh, ghrrr, in time with the strokes. Gasps and growls got longer and deeper, culminating in a long cry, throaty growl mixed with a higher tone, a sound like nothing in his experience, and she clasped him around the torso so strongly he was forced to be still, and kissed him again.

He wasn’t spent, so after a few moments of embrace he began moving again. She caught the rhythm after a few strokes, loosened her grasp, and began breathing deeply again. It took longer this time, but now he knew what to look for, and when she reached her high point he released his own. This time when she hugged him he hugged back, and they lay there together for a little while.

Then she kissed him again, bringing her tongue into play, and he responded. After only a little of that she pushed him away slightly and inhaled. «That’s really nice, but I can’t keep it up for too long,» she said. «I can’t breathe.»

«I can’t either,» he admitted. «But I like it too.»

«Let’s see how long we can keep it up.» They did that, establishing the maximum duration to the satisfaction of both parties.

The third time took even longer, but seemed to work out just as well. After she had released her final clasp, he rolled to one side, lying on the bed, their bodies touching full length. «I have to rest a little,» he admitted.

«Me too.» She smiled and pecked his lips. «But we can play.»

They explored one another, beginning with faces. Her facial cleft was deep enough to admit his hawkbeak of a nose; now he knew she breathed through it, which he’d assumed but didn’t know. She found his nose fascinating and fingered it several times. Her eyes were much like a human’s, except that the iris looked more like concentric rings than radial rays; they were blue with a tinge of green, which he hadn’t noticed despite looking full into them as they kissed. His were gray, with a bluish cast. «Not many Grallt have that color eyes,» she said. «Humans either,» he explained.