Jordan's Dilemma
Copyright© 2022 by SW MO Hermit
Chapter 8
Karen was desperate; she was fixated on her idea and, despite being away from home for months, couldn’t set it aside. Finally, in her desperation, she told her concubines she had important work to do and returned to the Lewis & Clark to focus on it. She was working on a concept involving small drones and the racer they had traded for. The small drones used earlier hadn’t been large enough to make a significant impact on the war, but she believed they might serve as a good trigger for her idea.
Having been aboard for several hours, she leaned back in her chair with her feet on her desk, gazing at an enlarged holographic view of the small attack drones and one of the racers they had traded for at Trd’Ya. Occasionally, she made a comment to Elsie, asked a question, or drew on her tablet, only to see the holographic display floating in front of her shift. She was in the middle of an intricate calculation when her ready room door whooshed open and Norm entered uninvited.
When she heard the door open, Karen felt a surge of irritation and whipped her head toward the door, ready to chastise the uninvited intruder. She almost bit her tongue when she saw her guest and quickly rose to her feet, stammering, “Admiral! I didn’t know you were aboard. How may I help you?”
Norm glanced at the holo display before saying, “Why don’t you tell me why you’re ignoring your conks and hiding up here in orbit? Your unhappy conks were crying when mine went to invite you to a small soiree.”
“I’m not ignoring them, sir. I just had an idea I wanted to write down before I forgot it.”
“Okay, I can see wanting to jot something down so you don’t forget it, but that’s why we have the AIs. They can record notes and help you remember things, even work on things while you do something else. Are you telling me it took you almost six hours to jot down your idea?”
“No, sir. I was fleshing it out a little, is all.”
“Yeah, and how much longer was that going to take? Never mind, Elsie, Command Override. Captain Smith is ordered to take the rest of today and the next three days as days of liberty. She is not allowed to do anything except relax and unwind unless recalled to duty by a superior officer.”
Karen blanched and stammered, “But, Sir! My duties...”
“Captain, it has been repeatedly proven that a person’s efficiency declines drastically if they fail to relax occasionally. Almost a century ago, the U.S. Navy conducted a study of command errors among new captains caused by lack of sleep. At the time, they found that many captains averaged only four hours of sleep at a stretch and that their decisions were flawed due to exhaustion. Now, shut down and return to Cay and your concubines.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” Karen said as she took her seat again. She bent her head and resumed typing while Norm watched.
After five minutes, Norm said, “Elsie, stop saving Captain Smith’s inputs and restrict her access to whatever she’s working on until her liberty ends. Now, Karen, shall we go?”
Karen’s anger showed on her face as she stood and replied, “Aye, Sir.” When Norm turned and left her office, she followed angrily.
She returned to her home as soon as they arrived on Cay. Her concubines happily met her at the door and whisked her into the large bathroom, where they undressed her and pushed her into the shower. They lovingly washed her, paying close attention to the good bits, giving her several nice orgasms before Tod and Tim took her to bed for a good pounding. After she was well loved, she was allowed to sleep for an hour before they dressed and went to the party.
When Karen and her family entered the venue, they were greeted by raucous noise and laughter and quickly surrounded by friends and acquaintances who praised her for the success of her mission. Norman handed her a glass of her favorite drink before saying, “It’s good to see you, Captain. Some of us worried you might miss the celebration.”
Karen felt her stomach tighten at the comment. She gave him a sickly smile and replied, “Oh, no, sir. I wouldn’t dream of doing anything like that.”
Smiling, Norm replied, “Good. Good. All things in moderation, Captain. Now, come and enjoy the party,” he said, guiding her toward a table of senior officers and colony officials.
After the party, Karen spent time on welcome-home activities before collapsing into an exhausted slumber, surrounded by her concubines. It was almost noon when she was awakened by a slamming door and the happy shrieks of children trooping into the house for lunch. She stretched and dozed, occasionally listening to the chatter wafting into her bedroom. Slowly, her mind began to turn to the project she had been working on when the Admiral ordered her to the party.
While she enjoyed her mandated time off, she was eager to flesh out her idea and left home earlier than usual on the day she was allowed to return to work. She was almost the first through the door of the administration building and hurried into the office assigned to her. Aside from her self-imposed work, she had nothing pressing, since her crew was still on their return-home liberty (excluding the folks on watch).