Chapter 14

Captain Jones, Sheila, was a doll. She was smart as a whip, quick with her wit, and had the reflexes of a cat. She had proven herself on Earth as a more than competent fighter pilot and did no less so flying our spacecraft. It was a pleasure to have her as a member of our team.

Her wingman, Lieutenant Robert Wilson, or Bob, as he liked to be called, was no less welcome after he’d shown he had an easy-going personality, a penchant for service, and a willingness to learn without ever giving anyone the impression he knew anything beforehand. Some jocks have a know-it-all attitude, but Bob never allowed that to be a factor in any case I’d seen him in. Oh, but was he quick. Quick to learn, quick to act and apply what he’d learned, and quick to ask questions if there was any doubt in his mind at all about how all of the new knowledge fit together.

Bob spent almost all of his active time either with the fighter pilots of the 225^th, or on the bridge, at Charlie’s request, learning the finer points of space travel, and the big picture, as the General explained it. He seemed to have picked up an escort of sorts in one of our lieutenants. Again, our pilots were Navy, so she outranked him, but that didn’t seem to bother her, nor him, nor his or her commanders. Personally, I thought it was cute, but then, I have a soft spot for budding romances. Lieutenant Jana Sarn, a flight leader, took him under her wing during the training on Earth, and never really let him go.

After a couple of days enroute to Omega, Sheila Jones, the Earthling fighter pilot, got my attention on the bridge and started a conversation that changed our lives forever.

“Captain Vorn, I hate to ask anyone I work with questions of a personal nature, but what do you think of General Collins?”

“That IS rather personal, Captain Jones, especially since we’re engaged to be married one day. May I ask why you are inquiring?”

“It’s kind of personal, too. Do you mind honesty? In its basest form?” Sheila asked of me.

“Absolutely not. It’s the code I live by. General Collins seems to have the same malady,” I told her.

“Good. I’ve known Charlie Collins since I was but a child and he was a budding fighter pilot working for my father. Again, in all honesty, and please don’t be mad at me for saying this, as I wish to cause no problems for you, but I’ve had a crush on him since I was old enough to have to change my panties for reasons other than changing after a bath.” She snickered.

I laughed. “So, my fiancé turns you on, young lady?”

“Always has, always will. I’m a little ... No, I’m very jealous of you, and of Sella, and Son Lee, too. Maybe not jealous, as that word has so many negative undertones. Let’s call it envy. I’m severely envious. You three have managed to do, off in another world, what I’ve wanted to do for years. I’ve had more wet panty dreams about Charlie Collins than I can count, and I’ve never even considered anyone else in my little corner of the world, fantasy or otherwise. That’s all it is now, a fantasy, since you all have come along, but I just wanted to know if he is really the same man in private as he has always been in my mind. Kind, caring, loving, and ... Well ... Capable.” She turned six different shades of pink after saying that.

“You pretty much have him pegged, Sheila. We love him. He loves us. He is everything I always thought a man couldn’t become. Sella won’t even speak to another man, yet clings to him, and Son Lee comes from a place where they don’t stay with their men, yet she won’t ever leave him. I guess that explains it.” She smiled, then looked down at the young pilot’s hands while she was wringing her fingers together. “Sheila, why don’t you meet us for dinner tonight in the Officer’s Mess. Say six o’clock ship’s time. I’d like you to just sit with us, and if the subject comes up, you can tell him how wet your panties got when you were, what, twelve?”

“A bit before that, but yes. Captain, I don’t think I could say anything like that to him.”

I had to laugh at her comment. “Hon, you don’t have to. I wasn’t actually asking you to. I was making a metaphoric attempt at getting you to say ‘Hello’, and that you remember him fondly. That would probably sound a little better. At least that’s my take on the situation.”

“Oh, yes. I see. Yes, it would. Certainly. Six? Are you sure you don’t mind me approaching him?”

“Sheila, if I minded, I would have called you Captain Jones and told you to keep your wet panties away from my man. Just the opposite, I think you are a beautiful, capable, intelligent woman and would do nothing to detract from my life, should you want him in it, and should he want you in ours. Something you should know, though, is that Sella and Son Lee and I are also in love with each other. It’s not just a man woman relationship alone.”

“Oh! My! I didn’t think of that. Not that I’d be turned away by it, but I don’t have much experience with girls. A little, but...” she was turning pink again.

“Hold that thought. That’s the one thing about love and relationships; you don’t have to know a damned thing about love and relationships to have love and a relationship. It’s something you either learn on the fly or unknowingly walk away from. Does that make sense?” I asked her.

“More than you think, ma’am. More than you think. Thank you for the invitation. I’ll try not to act like a little schoolgirl with a silly crush and try to be an adult about the whole thing.”

“Good. That will make it easier on all of us. I’m going to mention this conversation to Sella and Son Lee, but not to Charlie. I’ll let you approach him on your own. He’s my fiancé, my love, my world, my future, and my everything, but I don’t control him, nor his love life, nor do I want to. On that note, honey, I need to get back to work. I’ll see you at six.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

One thing I noticed as she left was that her confidence, her demeanor, her facial expressions, everything about her changed while we were talking about Charlie. She wasn’t the masterful pilot, burgeoning officer in the military, or self-assured woman. She was a girl, enchanted by the same thing I was. Charlie’s manner. Charlie, himself. I hope this didn’t keep happening, though. There is only so much living space in any given bedroom.

I spoke to the weapons people about our loadout, making sure we were prepared for any emergency, then a thought came to me. Sheila had the nerve, the guts, the fortitude, to approach me about her feelings toward Charlie. That accounted for something. It accounted for a lot, actually. She hadn’t been turned into the mushy mess I was thinking of earlier. She had her wits about her on that subject, as strange as it must’ve felt, and as hard as it must have been, for her to come to me about it. That actually took a lot of courage. I needed to remember that.

Once Sheila had cleared the bridge, I had the comms unit locate Sella and Son Lee and have them meet me up there. I had to at least forewarn them regarding what may or may not happen between Charlie and this beautiful specimen of a woman. She had Son Lee’s build, Sella’s complexion, and my hair. Yes, she was a redhead, but not a short, little, petite redhead. No, this one was statuesque, busty, had an hourglass waist, a marvelous set of hips, a tight and wonderfully shaped rearend, and legs almost as long as I was tall. In a nutshell, she was a masterpiece of femininity and attractiveness.