But the training has been crazy and…”
“…Don’t sweat it,” she smiled as she wiggled out of her pants, leaving nothing covering her but panties and a sports bra.
Nathan was suddenly reminded of that night, staring at her reflection in the mirrored tile on the wall of the anteroom in his father’s home, as she was pulling her skimpy evening dress back on.
“I got what I wanted,” she told him, stepping toward the scanning platform. She hopped up on the platform and laid down, calling out to the control room above. “Let’s get this over with! It’s freezing in here!”
“Alright, then,” Nathan said. He pulled his shirt on, collected the rest of his things and made a beeline for the door, adding “I guess I’ll see you around, then.”
Jessica just smiled a satisfied little smirk as the scanner platform began sliding her into the scanning tube.
Most, if not all of the Aurora’s skeleton crew took their meals at the same time while they were still in port. It was probably the only time they would ever be able to dine together in large groups once the ship was underway, and the captain thought it would promote bonding amongst the over-worked crew. It had been something that his wife had insisted on when his children were growing up, and for the most part it had worked as his family was still close despite the fact that they were always separated by vast distances. Nevertheless, most of them still broke up into groups of two, three, or four, as one might expect, sharing conversation with the few friends they had made in what little free time they had during this hectic period.
The galley itself was not yet completely operational. The hot and cold service lines were installed, as were most of the cooking appliances, but there were no cold storage units installed other than a few temporary refrigerators brought up from Earth to serve in the interim. Because of this, they couldn’t keep much in the way of inventory on board. Most of their food had to be prepared planet-side and shuttled up to be reheated, which was another reason for everyone to eat at once.
“She is unbelievable!” Vladimir complained as ate. “She is, how do you say, a real ball buster, yes?”
“Yeah,” Nathan laughed. “That’s how you say it.”
“Ensign, I need this, Ensign, I need that! She always needs something! And when she gets it, still it is not enough! He paused to take another bite of food. “I spend three days waiting on this wretch of a woman.”
“What are they doing?”
“I have no idea! Can you believe? All I know is, they need tremendous amounts of energy. And they are doing something outside, on the hull. With the shield emitters, I think. I don’t know. They don’t tell me anything. All I know is that this woman is making me crazy!”
Nathan had not known Vladimir for very long, just over a week. But he had never seen him so worked up about anything. He was usually very easy going, letting everything roll off of him. “If she bothers you that much, why don’t you ask to be reassigned?”
“I cannot,” Vladimir explained, shoveling more food into his mouth. “The chief chose me, personally. Besides, this woman, she is beautiful!”
“Ah, now it makes more sense,” Nathan exclaimed.
Vladimir looked at him funny. “No, you do not understand.”
“Oh I understand, alright,” Nathan laughed, as a message came through on his comm-set. “Hold on,” he told Vladimir, keying his mic. “Ensign Scott.”
“Captain wants to see you in his ready room right after chow, Sir.”
“Understood.” Nathan’s expression suddenly soured.
“What is it?” Vladimir asked, seeing the change in his friends mood.
“The captain wants to see me.”
“This is bad?”
“I haven’t been doing so well in the simulations,” Nathan admitted. “I think I might be getting fired.”
“Nathan,” Vladimir explained, “In the military, they do not fire you, they reassign you. They could demote you as well. But you are already only ensign. And that is the lowest rank an Academy graduate can have, I’m afraid. So he cannot demote you. But he could give you really bad job. Like, maybe waste processing plant.” Vladimir shuddered at the thought of the place.
“Thanks for the pep talk there, Vlad. You’ve really cheered me up.”
“What are friends for?” he responded as he finished his meal.
“Well, I might as well get this over with,” Nathan decided, rising from the table.
“Think positive thoughts,” Vladimir advised him. “And keep chin up, always look strong and confident.” Vladimir moved closer and lowered his voice. “That way, no one knows you are scared like little bunny.” Vladimir laughed and slapped Nathan on the back, sending him on his way.
“Ensign Scott, reporting as ordered, Sir.” Nathan stood straight as a board, eyes straight ahead. The one thing good about standing at attention was that I made it easier for him to hide how nervous he was.
“Ensign Scott,” the captain began. “At ease.”
Well at least he’s still calling me ensign. That’s a good sign.
“How’s the training going?”
“Sir?” Nathan wondered if it was a trick question.
“How are you doing in the simulations?” the captain asked more directly.
“There’s definitely room for improvement, Sir.”
“Yes, Ensign. I’d have to agree with you on that.” The captain leaned back in his chair, something he liked to do while considering his next statement. “And how would you say Ensign Taylor is doing?”
“Better than I am, Sir.” Nathan figured if he was going to be honest, he might as well be brutally honest.
“How so?”
“She knows her flight and navigation protocols better than I do, Sir. And she stays more level headed under pressure.”
“And you feel that’s a good thing?”
“I would think so, Sir.”
“Why?”
“Sir?” Nathan was confused, unsure of what the captain was getting at.
“You seem to think that Ensign Taylor has an advantage over you at the helm, because she is more level headed under pressure. I’d like to know why you think that’s an advantage.”
“I believe it allows her to think more clearly, weigh all her options, and choose the best course of action.”
“And you don’t think you’re capable of doing that?”
“I didn’t say that, Sir.”
The captain leaned forward on his desk again. “But you do think it gives her an advantage. What are you doing that she is not?”
Nathan stumbled for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. “Sir, I believe that I get too emotionally involved in the situation.”
“You mean, you take it more personally?”
“Yes, I believe so, Sir.” The captain was looking at Nathan, like he was waiting for him to elaborate further. “It’s, it’s like I’m fighting a battle, Sir. Like it’s me against the scenario, and I don’t want to lose.”
“And you don’t think Ensign Taylor has this same problem?”
“No Sir, she doesn’t. She just looks at the problem, and calculates the safest solution.”
The captain leaned back once more, taking in a deep breath. “If you don’t bet big, you don’t win big,” he mumbled.
“Sir?”
The captain rose from his chair and started making his way around to the front of his desk as he spoke. “Mr. Scott, there are two kinds of officers. Those that follow the book, and those that use it as a general guideline.” The captain sat down on the front of his desk, facing Nathan. “Are you following me so far?”
