Watching Yute (19 page)

Well, it wasn’t why Kirison was here,
primarily... he was more worried about shutting down his last
nanite project before that figurative napalm bath… but the truth
was, he’d still need a job after it was all settled. “Well, that’s
very kind of you, Sir.” Kirison started heading out. “Good to see
you again! I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw you in
person.”

“
Hrmph.”

Well, that out of the way, he wouldn’t
be watched so much. If Book had been watching him come in, his
curiosity was now sated, and he could move about a little more
freely. He made his way to the armory.

A grunt was there, counting bullets.
They ignored each other, and Kirison, trying his best to behave
like he belonged there, grabbed a mid-sized box. The grunt took
notice.

Kirison had his story lined up.
Hopefully it would be enough. It was all he had. “I’m going to see
how it reacts to masers.” The grunt shrugged, and went back to his
counting.

Kirison wanted to run all the way out,
but he resisted, and played it cool. No one said anything, and the
two casual-wear guards were too busy being casual to ask questions.
It wasn’t until after half an hour of driving that Kirison’s hands
stopped trembling.

~~~~~

:::C /19

~~~~~

When the moon took ownership of the
sky, it found Cassidy and Cheryl holding hands nude, gazing into
the sky, delirious with peace. Cassidy looked over to Cheryl and
her body, and sat up on her elbow. “Mind if I stare a
bit?”

Cheryl smiled softly. Despite her wish
to stay there forever, she picked up her watch and looked at the
time. “Ughh… Think it would be against regulation to show up to
duty naked?”

Cassidy giggled softly. “Definitely out
of uniform. Besides, I’m the jealous type. I want all that to
myself.” She illustrated her statement with a gentle caress that
started around Cheryl’s knee, and went smoothly up until she held
her face, for a slow, soft kiss.

“
Mmm, don’t. There’s no
time. I’ve still gotta get my duty pants and boots. We gotta get
going.”

Eventually, they approached the temple
holding hands, parting as new lovers do, arms reaching out,
touching fingertips until the last possible moment.

Cassidy realized how sappy she was
being the moment she saw Jim standing a few metres away from their
post, the southeast door, waiting for the shift change. She tried
to harden up a bit. She greeted him as she approached. “Hey,
Jim.”

“
So… not that I particularly
doubted the rumour…” Jim glanced over towards Cheryl’s post, the
southwest door, “but I see you got your cookies.”

Cassidy sighed. “Man… I’m sorry. You
know.”

“
Don’t be stupid,” Jim said
with a chuckle that sounded a little forced. “Something great
happened for you, that’s great, that’s all. It’s not like it has
anything to do with Karl.”

“
Yeah, but still, you’ve
been recently kicked, and here I come with Cheryl, prancing along
like ...”

“
Like a couple of girly…
uh...”

“
Bimbos?”

“
No, not quite what I was
looking for,” Cassidy peered into nothingness looking for the right
word.

“
Bimbos.” Jim gently
asserted.

Cassidy sighed, and relented. If Jim
wanted to call her a bimbo, she’d give him licence for a while. As
long as the term didn’t spread. The shift changed over, and they
took their posts. It was difficult to have casual conversation
while all Cassidy could think about was Cheryl. She didn’t want to
bring her up, and rub Jim’s nose in her new romance any more than
need be. But what else was there to talk about?

Jim could easily see Cassidy’s problem
in her body language. Eyes wandering everywhere, restless stance.
She was either trying to not talk about Cheryl, or she had to go
pee. “Would you just relax, Cass? You’re going to come off your
hinges if you keep this up for eight hours. It’s okay,
seriously.”

Cassidy exhaled deeply. “Well, it’s not
fair for you.”

“
I’ll survive.”

“
You’re rebounding on porn,
aren’t you?”

Jim laughed. “No, no, no. A little. But
speaking of rebounding, what happened to you not rebounding from
Brandy?”

“
Brandy and I have
effectively been apart for quite a while now, even if not
officially. I figure that it counts against the whole rebound
thing.”

Jim smirked. “Sounds pretty
convenient.”

“
Oh, yes, isn’t it just?”
Cassidy smiled wide, and sighed.

“
Alright, alright, tell me
all about it.” Jim couldn’t help but be amused. The fact was that
he may as well face the force of Cassidy’s new-found bliss, but he
was also feeling genuinely happy for her. And maybe he could enjoy
the feeling vicariously a little.

Cassidy let loose another dreamy sigh.
“Oh, what’s to tell? It’s been less than a day. Most of what’s to
tell is a little more explicit that I care to share.”

“
Bimbo. Or ‘trollop’
maybe?”

“
Yeah, yeah. Oh!” Cassidy
almost hopped a little. “She and I also played this trick on
W-“

“
Oh, I think everyone’s
aware of that whole thing already.”

Cassidy hummed to herself, swaying a
little where she stood. “Oh. Heehee..”

Jim smirked, and shook his head slowly.
“Oh, Cass, I know people act different when they fall in love, but
compared to the Cassidy I met when you first got here… It’s just
not like you.”

“
Hmm. Yeah.” She looked over
towards Cheryl’s post. “I wouldn’t generally call her my type, you
know.”

“
It seems to sit well with
you. Maybe you should consider her your type after all.”

Cassidy just quietly smiled, gazing
Cheryl’s way.

The early morning came, and soon after,
morning shift arrived.

Cassidy’s relief had an unexpected
message. “Cip says you and Cheryl should go back to the barracks,
not ‘your camp’.”

Alright, fine, not a big shock. She let
Jim get going ahead, so he wouldn’t have to see her reunion with
Cheryl. “Has eight hours ever been longer?” Cassidy said with a
kiss and a hug.

“
Ha. I know. But
Cip-“

“
Yeah, I know.”

They straggled behind the rest of night
shift on the path, and got a little distance from the eyes of
morning shift before joining hands. Cheryl glanced in the direction
of their private camp. “Think we’ll get that tent up today? I think
I’m a little burnt from our ... uh, sunbathing session.”

“
I’m surprised we’re not
lobsters, really. That sunscreen really did its job.” Cheryl
said.

Cassidy smirked a little, and kissed
Cheryl on the cheek. “It helps if you have enthusiastic help
putting it on.”

Cheryl turned her head to engage in a
deeper, slower kiss which halted their stride. “Oh, to heck with
Cip. Let’s defect, or go AWOL, or something and just go live in the
tent.”

“
We’d need water and
food.”

“
We can steal
cookies.”

“
Ah, a cunning plan. But
maybe we should just go take our lecture from Cip. If we’re lucky,
it’ll be short.”

Cheryl shrugged, continuing the walk.
“I need a shower still, anyway.”

“
I wasn’t going to say
anything…”

“
Brat.”

Cassidy and Cheryl were in no hurry as
they turned the corner into the barrack, coming into visual contact
with Cipriana. Cassidy waved with a sheepish smile. Cheryl waved in
a meek manner. “Hi, Cip. Are we grounded?”

“
No, though the thought
crossed my mind.” Cipriana was sitting on her own bunk, and waved
them towards their bunks, which were across from her own. “Have a
seat, ladies.”

The duo complied, sitting at the end of
their bunks, like a seated formation. “I’ve never had this
particular situation before.” Cipriana said. “Straight romances are
a bit easier to … regulate. Separate barracks simplify things a
little.”

“
Well, okay,” Cassidy said,
“let’s break it down. Aside from obnoxious lovey-dovey behavior,
what is the real problem? We’ve made arrangement to keep things
kind of out of the way, and we haven’t done anything particularly,
Uh, unseemly.”

“
True enough. And make no
mistake, I’m happy for both of you. There’s a couple little
wrinkles that I’d like to iron out. I assume you two intend on
making a fair amount of use with your new little camp?”

Her question was met with sheepish
smiles and little nods. “Sounds about right, if
possible.”

“
Well then, I have a few
suggestions.” Cipriana said. “I’d appreciate you keep terminals on
you when you’re out there, so you can be contacted more easily.
Also, considering that we have tourists running around during the
daytime, and even though they don’t wander around, I’d like to
minimize the chances of one stumbling upon you two while...
camping.”

“
Our camp is pretty well
hidden…” Cheryl offered.

“
That’s well and good but
still, what do the two of you think of being taken off night-shift?
I think if you two were on duty for afternoons, and made your
contribution to the tours in the morning shift, that should make
things easier.”

Cassidy and Cheryl looked at each
other, considering such a change. Cassidy turned back to Cipriana.
“We wuv you aunty Cip!”

Cipriana rolled her eyes. “Mind you, to
do this, I have to take your current watch partners, and pair them
together, and switch you two with a pair from afternoon shift. Can
I assume this is acceptable, and won’t be a problem?”

“
Sounds okay to me!” Cheryl
said as Cassidy shrugged in a positive manner.

“
This also means you two
will be partners on watch duty as well as the tour.” Cipriana
added, “you two won’t get sick of each other, will you?”

They ignored the notion as ridiculous.
“Man, I thought we were in shit, but we come in and get candy!”
Cassidy said.

“
Don’t forget,” Cipriana
warned, “I’m on afternoons too, so keep the silliness to a
minimum.”

“
Sir, yes, Sir, ma’am,
Captain Cipriana Reichenbach, Sir! No silliness, Sir!”

Cipriana closed her eyes and sighed
with her soft smile. “Splendid.”

Cheryl went to take her shower first,
leaving Cassidy to wait her turn. She sat back in her bunk, and
started small talk with Cipriana. “Well, I guess you missed your
chance, Cip. You must be kicking yourself now, huh?” It was around
now that Wanda wandered in, settling into her own bunk with her
breakfast.

“
My chance at what?”
Cipriana asked.

Cassidy glanced at Wanda, and looked
back at Cipriana as if the question was ridiculous. She gestured
along her own body. “All this, honey-Sir, what else?”

Wanda snickered, and Cipriana rolled
her eyes. “I might remind you that I’m straight, goof.”

“
Oh? Is that so?” Cassidy
stared into Cipriana with wide, crazy eyes, and waved her hands in
the air slowly as if touching arcane forces in the air. “For all
your powers of gaydar, did you ever think to turn that power…. on
yourself?”

“
Cassidy,” Cipriana spoke
with her usual tone of peace, but with added authority, “when you
arrived here, you had a very dark cloud over your head. At this
rate, within a few weeks, you will be starring in a Saturday
morning cartoon. That, or be in a straight jacket, pumped full of
thorazine.”

Cassidy turned to Wanda. “She’s in
denial. It’s sad, really. She won’t get over me until she admits
her burning, raging lust for me to herself.”

Chewing her toast, Wanda nodded with a
mock look of considered wisdom.

“
And you’re a bad influence
on Wanda.” Cipriana added.

A quiet moment passed, and Cassidy
settled into a less jovial disposition. Looking off down the hall
at nothing in particular, she spoke with a quiet, thoughtful tone.
“Cip... are... maybe this isn't right to ask...”

Cipriana re-asserted her aura of peace,
and spoke in kind. “Go ahead.”

Cassidy looked Cipriana in the eye for
a moment, and then sighed. “Are you lonely?”

“
I... hadn’t really thought
about it.”

“
What about you and
Marcus?”

Cipriana smirked a little. “What makes
you ask that? Just because we're the senior officers doesn’t mean
anything.”

“
I don’t know. I just kind
of felt a... a thing from you two.. Just seems like a good
match.”

Wanda, finished with her breakfast,
jumped in. “Typical. Cass gets a new squeeze, and wants to fix
everyone up. What about me, Cass? Huh? Where’s my new exciting
flame?”

Cassidy chortled. “You're
married!”

“
So what!?” Wanda’s retort
earned her only a pillow thrown at her.

Cheryl walked in, toweling her hair.
“What? What’s going on? What’d I miss?” Cassidy got up, and went to
take her shower.