A3 - Chapter 120 – Aftermath (Patreon)

USD: 62 Days after arrival at Fort Glisson

Location: Van Biesbroeck’s star, Meltisar, Fort Glisson, Company S, 1st Cadre

Alex stopped breathing and her entire body tensed like a taut rope as Rachel’s face came impossibly close. The soft fragrance of the other girl’s shampoo filled her senses, and the confusion over… everything paralyzed Alex’s mind. There was a brief hesitation as their noses bumped.

And then Rachel stole her lips.

The taste of cinnamon filled Alex’s mouth as she yielded to the other girl’s plundering. A warm sensation she had never really felt before filled her, and Rachel’s soft but lithe form pressed against her, leaving Alex with no question that the attractive body she’d seen before felt as nice as it looked.

Tension left her as the kissing continued, and Alex’s hands slid up to hold Rachel’s sides. As if sensing the change, Rachel pressed even more, her tongue playing tantalizing sensations over Alex’s lips.

Finally, Alex’s mind caught up with her. A gentle pressure from a hand on Rachel’s collar bone separated them slightly. Both girls caught their breath.

“Rachel, stop.”

Alex felt the tension return, although this time it was in Rachel’s. A confused look danced over the other girl’s face. “What? Why?”

Alex swallowed. “It’s a bad idea. It’s against regulations.”

The tension relaxed almost imperceptibly, and Rachel smiled. “The DIs haven’t been checking the cadre’s bunks for a week now. Tia won’t be back for at least another hour since she’s finishing her honors thing.”

Alex felt a tingling excitement at how close Rachel’s face was and the words were soothing in a way that said it was safe. Part of her wanted to accept that and go on experimenting with this kissing thing that was… nice.

Steeling herself against the idea, Alex shook her head slightly.

Rachel did not quite manage to hide the hurt look on her face, but she promptly slid off Alex to sit on the edge of the bunk. She didn’t seem to dwell on the rejection, though, a sly grin appearing on her face.

“Just because of the regulations? Because you seemed into it.”

Alex’s cheeks lit on fire, and she reached up to hide them, eliciting a laugh from Rachel. Alex bit her lip. “It was sudden but… nice. It was my first kiss.”

“Oh. You’ve never… been with someone before?” Rachel asked.

Alex shook her head, “No… I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship right now, either. I have… too much stuff to sort out.”

Rachel nodded. “I understand. I’m sorry if I came on you suddenly, but… sometimes you flirted with me like you didn’t even realize it. You seemed to be teasing me. And I’ve seen you looking… It seemed like a chance to take my shot.”

“I… I don’t remember flirting?” Alex said.

“That time they had us fixing trucks? You literally crawled over top of me! Literally nestled me in your bosom for five minutes since I couldn’t figure it out.” Rachel countered.

“It… it wasn’t on purpose; I was trying to help fix it!”

“That time when…”

“No, no. Stop. I believe you. Really!”

A Rachel seemed appeased, but a wistful look appeared on her face. “That time you piggybacked me from that run that went bad… It was freezing and we had double gear.”

“It was a hard run, but anyone in the group would have helped you.” Alex said.

“I know, but you stepped up first. You’ve always been helping me.”

“You’re my friend,” Alex said, looking away, “and you’re right, I looked a few times. You’re one of the most attractive girls in the Cadre.”

Rachel turned and leaned in again, Alex turning back to meet her eyes.

“One week, and basic is over. We’ll both be going up to MIL-1A. There will be a few weeks before OCS starts. We can hang out. I don’t mind being friends. Very good friends. With no expectations or strings attached. I would prefer it that way, actually.”

Alex didn’t think on it very long or hard and reached out, her fingertips brushing Rachel’s lips lightly before gently pushing her back. “Okay. Let’s do that.”

Rachel bit her lip as Alex smiled at her. “Don’t look at me like that. You’ll make me wet.”

Alex’s cheeks heated as she looked away, causing Rachel to giggle. “You don’t actually have to look away.”

Shaking her head, Alex pouted. “Romance is complicated. More complicated than rebuilding a corvette from salvage.”

Rachel stifled another giggle. “Romance? I think it’d be best if we just focused on having fun. No need to define things so fast.”

Alex frowned and looked up at the ceiling, thinking to herself, “My plans don’t have a good track record of working out, anyway.”

Rachel scooted closer and as she leaned it Alex felt a tingling sensation that now seemed to follow every time the other girl entered her personal space. The kiss landed on her cheek, gentle and reassuring.

“That’s for whatever made you look so sad.” Rachel said.

“Are you going to kiss all my traumas away, then?” Alex asked.

Rachel stood up and smiled down at her. “I could try. Do you have a lot of traumas?”

“I could start adding them up.” Alex said with a silly grin.

***

USD: 62 Days after arrival at Fort Glisson

Location: Van Biesbroeck’s star, Meltisar, MIL-1A, Central Hub, Habitation Arc 26

Thea looked over her shoulder for what felt like the hundredth time as she moved down the corridor. Something, or someone, was watching her. The feeling was less grounded in any concrete evidence and more a subliminal message in her gut. Her arrival on the military station had been mundanely routine on the surface.

Fallon had gotten her clearance and cover as a generic civilian contractor suit with a complete history of doing business with Meltisar’s military across various projects. The cover was relatively ironclad in that one Felicity Thompson was certainly a real woman who did actual business with the military, selling products and services from her aerospace company that was silently backed by CS interests.

They had just nudged her genetic profile, and historical description to match Thea’s.

That would have been much more difficult if the system Meltisar used to monitor such details hadn’t been produced and sold to them by the same company. Everything had gone perfectly fine on arrival, yet Thea couldn’t shake off the feeling of something being off.

The station’s systems had graciously allowed her access, but it was perhaps the fuzzy feeling to the data that had made her anxious. As if everything she was receiving had been filtered by an expert eye to making sure that Thea received everything she asked for, in a sanitized way.

Thea reached her destination and slid her card into the apartment’s card slot. It opened happily, and she did a cursory inspection of the apartment. It was clean, with an unlived in look that she had no intention of disturbing. Putting her small suitcase on the bed, she let her hair down.

A few minutes later, she slipped back outside and went to the apartment door across the hall. Placing her hand on the reader, her nanites infiltrated the machine and produced a valid access key.

Rather than barge straight in, though, she scouted the inside for any security devices. Almost immediately orange pings warned her of armed and ready security devices prepared to blare her intrusion all over the net and station if triggered.

It took several additional moments before she was satisfied that they had all been disarmed.

“Hey, card not reading? Need some help?” A man asked from beside her.

Thea suppressed a startled jump, mentally cursing herself for not paying attention while she had been working. Losing her situational awareness to a task she could have handed her MainComputer was a rookie mistake.

He was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, and the impression he gave was of another resident of the section, rather than any security or station personnel.

“Oh. No. Is that what it looked like? I’m fine, sorry. Was just lost in thought for a minute.” Thea answered. She pressed on the door and it beeped happily as it slid open for her.

“Ah, sorry to bother you, then.”

Thea nodded and then stepped inside, letting the door shut behind her. Letting out a breath of air, Thea took stock of the room.

It looked little more lived in than the apartment she’d rented across the hall, although there were more of random bits and bobs laid out. At first glance, most of it looked to be recent purchases, and a small pile of flattened containers ready for recycling was stacked in the corner.

Looking through the closet, the only article she found that didn’t seem brand new was a single uniform that looked like a poorly cared for antique from a Federation historical reenactment. It was stained and had several holes in it and even came with a matching skin suit.

Thea scanned the computer in the helmet visor, but it had been sanitized by whoever had stored it and there wasn’t any data or information to be had other than a damage status.

She wasn’t sure what she had expected to find in a Rogue NAI’s apartment, but it felt like a complete waste of time to scout it out, until she found a single paper form on a nightstand.

“Elis Myers.” Thea said to herself, tasting the name as she read the handwritten note from a navy doctor named Pierce. A cursory check of the records for her prey made her frown. No mention of an Elis was reported, and she sent a second query to the station’s database. Something did not add up.

She thrashed the medical records, and suddenly Elis Myers existed according to the database. The previous records suddenly changed to reflect that as well, and Thea growled in annoyance. It was as if someone had been watching her infiltration and only after being caught in the lie had tried to cover it up.

Someone was watching her, at least her actions on the station net.

Turning to leave, Thea came to a sudden halt, reading the digital clock on the sliding door.

Instead of a time, it had a message: “Help me.”