Chapter 4: A Night to Rest

Petty Officer Ramirez looked at the door to his quarters. The label that declared him a “Fascist” was gone, replaced with a new layer of fresh gray paint. His fingers pressed against the dried layer before he tapped the panel near his door.

“I hope you’re caught,” Ramirez said with some anger. He walked into his quarters and looked at the interior. It wasn’t a set of guest quarters, but it was adequate. It consisted of two alcoves, one on the left and one on the right, where the bed mattresses were located. There were lockers and cabinets in the far corners, a table with displays and chairs in the center, and a display mounted on the wall. The back consisted of a basic small restroom and shower stall. All in all, even for a cramped two-person room, it wasn’t bad to live in and probably put some older UHN warship rooms to shame.

It was shortly after the conclusion of the officer’s briefing on the ship. Ramirez had little care for it, except for the assignment that he had to take care of.

The man walked to his table. Just before he was going to sit down, there was a knock on his door.

“Oh man ... can I get a break?” Ramirez groaned. He walked over to the panel and opened the door.

Standing before him was an all too familiar face, at least for the current day. The orange Shal’rein had her hands pressed to her side. A big grin was on her pointed shark-like face, her shark-like teeth exposed in a big smile as she looked down upon him.

“Nir’vina...,” Ramirez remarked with a mild hint of agitation. “What is it now?”

“I heard we have a mission coming up,” Nir’vina said in her raspy, thin voice. “I wanted to offer a new list of parts we should have sent to us before we start making boom-booms.” She pulled out her tilon and was preparing to turn it on.

“Nir’vina...,” the man waved his hand at her. “I’m off duty.”

“I know. I was thinking of other things we could use on this ship. Micro-missiles that could be mounted on the wings. I even have ideas of creating some with nuclear-tipped warheads. Heh, heh.”

The Shal’rein was giddy at best, eager to get started. However, the man was tired and simply not interested in the moment.

“Can we save this till tomorrow?” Ramirez practically pleaded. “We aren’t taking off for another couple of days.”

“But, you’re the ordinance officer,” the Shal’rein countered. “At least check what I have.”

The man relented a little bit. Nir’vina pulled the two strips of her tilon apart and turned it on. A profile of the top layout of the Lifen lander was displayed. There were red lights highlighting the wings. Ramirez took the tilon and looked at it.

“Ugh ... You’re trying to turn this ship into a N’Jip Assault Carrier, aren’t you?” Ramirez asked. “It won’t work. Those Itrean carriers’ wings are missile launchers. The Lifen had its wings designed as basic stabilizers for atmospheric flight.”

“I know, but I’m working on a pair of box launchers,” Nir’vina said. “They can be mounted on the wings and rigged to launch.”

“Missile pods ... but we would have a hard time reloading them in space. I know what you’re trying to do, but it won’t work. It would be easier to deploy munitions from the front bay doors than this.”

“But you can’t fire missiles that way when flying through the atmosphere. These missile launchers can fire while in an atmosphere.”

“And trying to rig Itrean warheads with UHN equipment? It’s very hard to do.”

“You have stealth shuttles that can do it.”

“That took weeks, and it was built inside the ship,” Ramirez countered. He closed the tilon and handed it back to her. “We don’t have access to the internal recess of the wings. Nir’vina, I know you mean well, but our resources are limited. Our manpower isn’t enough, and we have to be in space to work on all of this.”

“Come on ... we can get lots of explosions...,” her fingers fidgeted when she said it.

Ramirez sighed. “I’ll tell you what. Keep working on it since you’re so determined on this, but at this moment, those EMP munitions are a bigger priority.”

“Just try to get those parts ... plenty of asteroids to test ... plenty to blow up, heh.”

“Goodnight, Nir’vina.”

“OH! And I also got another idea about...”

“Goodnight..., Nir’vina.” Ramirez touched the panel, and the door slid closed, silencing the orange Shal’rein and closing her out from entering his room.

The man shook his head and walked back to his table.

“In one day, I learn her solution to every driven equation,” he said in exhaustion. “‘As long as it ends in an explosion’...”

Ramirez took a deep breath and walked over to his table. He grabbed the Velcro on his jumpsuit and began to pull it off. Then, he sat down on his chair and pulled the Velcro off his boots before flipping it off and to the side.

With his uniform down to his waist, his blue shirt was exposed. He then interfaced with the panel on his table and turned on the unit.

A 3D projection appeared while the petty officer leaned back in his seat. Having to operate back and forth in zero gravity and adjust to the artificial gravity of the spinning ring naturally put some wear on his body. At the same time, he seemed bothered.

The man tapped a few buttons and saw that a message had been sent to his email. He brought up the menu and decided to play it.

Appearing in a previously recorded video was another familiar face. The bald-headed captain was a reminder of his close family. Captain Ramirez looked similar to the younger petty officer carrying the looks of a man from former Mexico. Besides the fancier officer’s uniform, lack of hair on top, and small mustache, the captain was a person worthy of being close to the young Ramirez.

“Hello, nephew,” the captain addressed him in a similar Spanish accent. He was sitting down at a fancy long sofa chair in his luxury home of another world. In the background was a relaxed setting depicting a well-lit environment so bright that it almost caused a shiny reflection from the captain’s forehead.

Of course, it was a recording, so there was nothing that the petty officer could do but just watch.

“I just wanted to check up with you,” the captain continued. “I’ve heard more and more about what’s happening to you, and I just wanted to say that I understand. Seems like a lot of the UHN can’t get their heads on straight, and things only get weirder as time keeps going. Hopefully, those bastards on Batrice get their heads together.” He sighed a little bit and looked away. “I know we haven’t always seen things on the same page, but I know my sister. She has a way of getting things done when she wants to. Don’t let them get to you.”

“Thanks, uncle,” the petty officer said.

“My mate,” a female voice called out in the recording. “Dinner is ready.”

“I’m in the middle of recording with...,” the captain paused, looking at someone else.

The young Ramirez watched as there was a tail, most likely from an Itrean, that appeared on the edge of the screen. A hint of the Japanese and Spanish accent could be heard from the few words spoken. The captain gave an annoyed look at her before looking back at the recording.

“You didn’t see that,” the captain said with some stern in his voice, looking at the camera. He pointed at the screen. “Give me a callback. No excuses, alright?”

The message paused as a beeping sound erupted from the door. Ramirez stood up from his seat.

“I swear if that’s Nir’vina again...,” Ramirez said. He tapped the button on his table.

The door slid open to reveal Marcelle. The young blond woman showed a smile on her face.

“Are you ok?” Marcelle asked with a hint of concern. Her French accent could be heard. That voice always seemed to worm its way to the man’s heart. It was pleasant to hear, causing the man to give a hint of content to her.

“Tired,” Ramirez replied.

“Awww...,” she walked in as the door slid closed behind her. She approached Ramirez and hugged him as he remained seated. The two held each other close before they made a brief kiss on the lips. Marcelle broke away as the two looked at each other.

“Heard anything yet?” Marcelle asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.

“No ... unfortunately,” Ramirez replied discouragingly. “Still no word yet on who graffitied the door. It’s the 24th century, and some asshole can still get away with this shit.”

“I know. I still wonder if it’s been those pranksters, you know? Maybe it’s just a sick joke they’re pulling.”

“Yeah, the phantom shitter and mattress thieves. I don’t know if they would go to these sorts of lengths to harass me. So few know my secret,” he said. “And here I am being called a fascist because I was born on Batrice.”

“Could it?” Marcelle shook her head. “What about Mizu? He’s born on Batrice.”

“I spoke to him. Nothing ... nobody has harassed him since he’s come on board. Everyone knows he’s born there, too.”

“It’s wrong. It doesn’t matter if you were born there or not. Do you ... think it might have been Mizu?”

“Ay Dios mío,” Ramirez said in Spanish. “Mizu would never do that. He’s upset at Batrice, but he wouldn’t bother me. We’ve been on good terms.”

“I’m sorry for even suggesting it,” Marcelle hugged him again and remained close.

“It’s ok.” Ramirez took Marcelle’s hand and held it close.

“They can’t hurt you,” she said. “They can’t hurt you.”

“I’m not going to worry too much about it, and neither should you.”

She nodded. “You’re right...”

Ramirez decided to change topics.

“So, how’s that new cook doing?” he asked.

“You haven’t gone to dinner yet?”

“No, I was fixing on getting some in a half-hour.”

“You need to go down there,” Marcelle had a big smile on his face. “It’s Chef Bransen, that fighter guy I kept hearing about. He made these little croissants ... like with his own hands.”

“You already had dinner?”

“No, but I went in to get a sample of it. You know I help out in the galley, silly.”

Ramirez was taken aback. “If that guy can make a Paloran spicy chimichanga, then I’m sold.”

“It’s Chef Bransen, Ramirez. He’s one of the best.”

The man nodded. “I didn’t have much of an appetite until now...”

Marcelle looked at the still image of Captain Ramirez on the display image.

“How’s your uncle?” she asked.

“It’s weird talking to him again,” Ramirez explained. “Most of our messages are just recordings that we make.”

“But at least you’re talking to him, right?”

“Yes. It feels strange, though. Like he really didn’t change until the whole war broke out. Before that, I just never wanted to talk to him. Now ... I don’t know.”

“Maybe it’s because of family,” Marcelle wondered.

“Some of it has to do with my mother. She was the one who chose to move away from Palora and start a new life on Batrice. But, it sorta put a big rift between my other family members. I guess being lightyears apart does those sort of things.”

“He’s still happily married, right?”

“Yes ... but there’s something else that happened recently that I didn’t think would ever happen. After that whole Cipra operation, I think my uncle took in a pair of Itreans.”

“Really? It didn’t cause a rift in his current marriage?”

“If there was, I never heard of it,” Ramirez shrugged. “All I know is that one of them was a Captain on another ship.”

Marcelle shook her head but kept her smile. “I don’t know ... I would get a little jealous if I found out you were with some Itrean woman.”

Ramirez turned his head to see that Marcelle was pulling the Velcro off her jumpsuit. The man smiled a little bit in response.

“You want to go eat first?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I want to take a shower first. I have some grease on me, and I need to get it off.”

“I wouldn’t mind a shower.”

“We still got fifty minutes before the mess hall closes down.”

Ramirez stood up from his seat as Marcelle began to take her uniform off. She bent down and started with her boots first. Ramirez had been somewhat used to these moments. He grabbed his uniform and pulled it off before grabbing his shirt next. He walked over to the restroom before pulling it off, exposing his bare chest. A small necklace wrapped around his neck showed a circular golden crucifix. From the mirror, he could see Marcelle was halfway in getting her uniform off, exposing her white panties and shirt.

There was a brief set of memories that flashed through Ramirez as he looked at himself in the mirror. He remembered the whole fight in the asteroid belt. How he managed to help out in the Jian Seng and gain his position as a weapons petty officer. Or how Marcelle earned a notable reputation as the person who flew through an asteroid field with an old beat-up transport. He ran his hand against the left brown nipple, noting the scar inflicted from the attack and how he managed to escape certain death from the Shal’rein scout ship.

“You seem distracted...,” Marcelle commented. She took her shirt off and finally her bra, exposing her bare pale chest. A pair of small pink nipples lay aimed in Ramirez’s direction. She didn’t particularly have large breasts, but it didn’t matter to Ramirez.

“Just thinking,” he said. He took his underwear off, exposing a rather long penis that was slowly growing erect.

“Thinking of what?” Marcelle looked at her chest.

“Just thinking about ... things that led us here, you know?”

Marcelle shook her head. “Not excited about going back there...,” she commented. “I just get this feeling that I’m going to be the one with the controls, flying the ship through god-knows-where.”

“The chances of that happening are pretty null.”

“Hmm ... I don’t know.”

“You know the Cap. She won’t have us do it again.”

Ramirez walked back into the restroom. Being completely naked, he opened up the small stall. In seconds, Marcelle also came walking in entirely naked as well. Despite the size of the room, it was still big enough for two to be in. The stall was just large enough for Ramirez to step in with Marcelle in tow.

The shower stall was designed to operate in a zero-gravity environment. There were two modes, regular and zero. Regular was the expected setting when the ring spun, and artificial gravity was obtained. Zero mode would ensure that the stall doors were closed and sealed enough to prevent water from escaping where vent cycling would flush the water out. A simple shower head activated and began to flush warm water that made contact with their bodies. On the side was a simple all-in-one soap dispenser. Marcelle naturally held her hands to Ramirez’s chest to feel the water splash against him.

Despite the compactness of their frames, Marcelle and Ramirez still felt comfortable taking their showers together. Immediately, the warm water flowed and soaked their bodies. The sound of running water could be heard as the scene slowly grew steamy. The one catch with the tight environment was that it was difficult for Ramirez to admire Marcelle’s naked body.

“I’m happy that Shira allowed us to settle in together in the same room,” Marcelle said.

“I guess there is a benefit of the Cap being an outsider,” Ramirez remarked. He took his hands and applied them to the soap dispenser. A small amount of liquid fell into his hands before he began to lather them up.

Marcelle could feel the hardened erection of his boyfriend pressed against her stomach. Her hand naturally went to it, feeling its rigid warmth. Her fingers felt the line of pubic hair that resided around the shaft, along with the testicles that freely dangled between his legs.

“Did it hurt?” Marcelle asked him.

“Huh?” he asked.

“Getting an augmented dick?”

“Heh...,” Ramirez continued to lather his hands, being careful not to let the water splash against it. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“I remember what you told me. You were afraid that I wouldn’t love you because your original size was ... too small. If you did that for any woman, then can you at least tell me if it hurt or not.”

Ramirez began to apply the soap to her. She relaxed as she stood while his hands caressed her body.

“I was knocked out for the procedure,” Ramirez said. “But...”

“Yes?” She asked.

“I felt pain after it. I remember that they even offered me a chance to see it as it was stored in a jar if I ever wanted it back for some reason. I wasn’t interested.”

Her eyes looked down at the tip of his member when her hands went down to it. With the full erection, Ramirez was well into the eight inches in length. It wasn’t big by girth, but just in how long it was. While it looked very life-like, down to the skin complexion of his body, there were tiny hints of blue, glowing valleys that resided near the mid-shaft and tip. It was the only true hint, with the exception of his testicles, that his member was a luxurious fake.

“The ship will be making a slight course change,” an overhead intercom called. “Standby for movement in five ... four ... three ... two ... one...”

Both Ramirez and Marcelle braced onto each other. Ramirez was the smarter one as one hand pressed against the wall to stabilize them. The flowing water moved to the right for a few seconds before it came to a stop. In another ten seconds, the ship’s correctional thrusters made things shift to the left. The ship’s adjustment was complete. Marcelle could feel the man’s erection hard pressed into her.

Without much thinking, Marcelle grabbed the base of the man’s shaft and pushed down upon it. This caused Ramirez to almost question what was happening until the woman lifted her stomach and hips. She separated her legs to the best that she could and positioned the tip towards her vaginal entrance.

“Ah...,” Both moaned a little bit. Ramirez stopped trying to apply soap to her when he felt the tip of his penis slowly press against the damp blond pubic hair of her nether regions. She made slight thrusts before his member pushed more and more inside of her. Even in a standing position, entry wasn’t that difficult. The water served as a natural lubricant.

The warm water did mask some of the feeling, knowing that he was inside of her. Marcelle gripped the man before Ramirez was fully inserted inside of her.

“You do this every time we shower together,” Ramirez commented.

“I know,” Marcelle said. “It’s because you’re too big.”

“Huh?”

“When we finish taking up showers, we do it, but by the time I dry off, it gets harder for you to push it into me. It hurts.”

“You’ve never complained about this before.”

“You’ve ... never really asked. I ... I like doing it this way before we do it. We shower. It doesn’t hurt, and it keeps everything open so that way, when we do it, it feels good.”

“So ... heh...,” Ramirez remarked. “You’re telling me that I’m too big for you.”

Marcelle nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know. I mean ... I know you want to have a big dick, but I wouldn’t have cared if you were small, either.”

“Yeah ... that’s what they all say,” he said as he scrubbed her back. She took some soap and began to scrub his back.

“No, I ... I like you for the way you are, Ramirez.”

“Look,” he said. “I had a girlfriend that left me long before you. Her last words were, ‘Not interested in a pencil dick boyfriend.’”

“Oh...,” her words gave a hint of sympathy. “No wonder you did that.”

“And the only reason why you care for me is the droves of Itrean women that are flocking to every man’s front step. Suddenly, there is competition for women in finding a man.”

“No ... no...,” Marcelle gripped the man’s shoulders.

“Yes, yes,” Ramirez said adamantly. “Even I remember you were with that other man ... What’s his name? Joe ... something? Before he transferred off the Jian Seng.”

“Petty Officer Joseph. He ... I liked him, but he was ... kinda of a jerk at times.”

“He was?”

“Yeah. Like ... I loved him, but when he transferred off the ship, it didn’t take long for me to get over it. My point is, Ramirez. You’re better than him. And ... maybe you’re right. Maybe all those Itrean women are taking up the bachelors, and I feel a little ... rushed to grab a man before you’re gone, but I know you don’t have an interest in the alien women either.”

“Nah, I prefer the human variety, thank you,” Ramirez waved his soapy hand at her. For a moment, the two chuckled, feeling their body gyrate against each other while being penetrated.

“That’s what I mean,” Marcelle said. “I think ... you’re the one for me.”

“You ... really think so?” Ramirez’s brow lifted in surprise.

The French blond nodded her head. “If a pair of Itrean women came to you and asked to ... become a part of our relationship. How would that make you feel?”

“Pass. I don’t prefer to remember everyone’s birthday and get scolded when I forget it.” He was so adamant and playful in how he said it that Marcelle smiled. She reached up and kissed him on the lips.

“I love you,” she said.

“Me too,” he replied.

The man started to move his legs and hips. He could feel his erection maintain and drive into her vaginal crevice like a hammer.

“Mmm ... mmm...,” she moaned a little bit. “Let’s finish up this shower quickly. I want to fuck before we go eat.”

The two moved their legs and hips. Slowly, the man pulled out of her before making a nice little plop sound. Marcelle moaned as the two broke their intercourse.

Suddenly, the mood changed. The two were driven to finish up their shower at a much quicker pace. Marcelle turned around and put her hands to the wall as Ramirez got another lather of soap put on his hands. He began to scrub her shoulders, rubbing the palms of his hands against the hardened pink nipples before working his way down to her waist and crotch. The water continued to flow at an ever-present rate. Before long, his hands played with her vaginal crevice, washing the area with more focus before working toward her backside.

“You know, one thing is for sure,” Ramirez said. “There’s one big benefit to having a man with an augmented rod like me.”

“Oh, and that is?” she asked.

“I’ll always be hard up for you.”

“Oh, is that right?” she chuckled a little bit. “And what happens if the batteries run out for that thing?”

“Not a problem. I just go up to Cap and ask if I can go and get some more.”

“Ha, ha. I can imagine our CO hearing that one.”

“Hey, Cap,” Ramirez jokingly said. “I need to bone my girlfriend. Mind if we make the nearest stop at a base?”

“I can imagine Shira’s reaction to that.”

“You mean the lack of reaction?”

“Maybe you should tell her that we’re trying to have a baby,” she told him. “Maybe she’ll be more likely to do it.”