The Kiss and More
Jinto sat contently thinking of what had just occurred. What had he done to bring this about? Was it that little peck on her cheek or was it something she saw in his mind? He’d been trying to remember what he had let Lafiel see. Everything past his capture at Lobnas II was a blur. Was she serious? Would she really kiss me again? He sat staring into space when a familiar voice brought him back.
“So where did you two go?” It was Ekuryua, her green-blue eyes meeting his. “Exploring, in normal space.” replied Jinto trying not to look her in the face. “You’re being vague Commander Lynn, where did you go?” asked Ekuryua again. “I’m not telling you.” He gets up and leaves the bridge. “You have the watch Ekuryua.” “Yes Commander Lynn, I understand.”
Jinto was not in a mood to play twenty questions with Ekuryua. When she had outranked him, she would order him to stay and sometimes grill him without mercy. Now he could get up and leave at his pleasure. “What a relief I don’t have to obey her anymore.”
Ekuryua’s feelings for Jinto had always puzzled him. She adored Diaho and the kittens and she would use them to get to Jinto. She was always there whether Jinto wanted her around or not. There were times Jinto felt like an animal in a cage, with her on the outside studying him. They never spent a lot of time alone, not like he and Lafiel did. If she cared about him she never showed it. I just do not get her and I guess I never will.
Jinto was heading for his cabin, it had been a day full of surprises and sleep was his next duty. He open his cabin set the lights to medium and prepared for bed. Looking in the mirror he thought. “So this is how I’ll appear till the day I die.” At age twenty-eight Jinto’s face looked wise but still young, it pleased him. His transformation had left him with some questions that he asked the medical staff on his return from his vacation. The most important was how much longer would he live? The answer was around two hundred years more, that meant he and Lafiel should live about the same amount of time.
He had eye and ear trouble from his “swimming thru a vacuum” incident at Febdash. Those problems seem to have disappeared. Still the doctors asked him to watch for and report anything out of the ordinary. Jinto was only one of two hundred Terrans whom had received this treatment in the last fifty years. History on this treatment was still being gathered and his mental outburst was the first of it’s kind. It was felt that by revealing and removing his pretreatment monsters he should not have any more problems. Jinto hoped they were right. He turned of the lights and slept peacefully.
Lafiel’s cabin was down the hall from Jinto’s and her door faced the lift shaft entrance. Getting to the bridge was no problem. Lafiel was not only an Admiral; she was also the captain of her ship. This change of command structure was a result of the massacre at Palhun in 958.
*********
Palhun was a small star system with one inhabitable planet and a fuel processing plant. It was important because it had access to a Sord. A hold out fleet from the United Mankind was there. Admiral Trife sent Admiral Bebaus to destroy the United Mankind fleet. Somehow the United Mankind fleet managed to escape before Admiral Bebaus arrived. Out numbering the enemy ten to one Admiral Bebaus arrives to find the area around the Sord empty. Normally upon taking a Sord the main fleet enters normal space and the scouting fleet examines the star system in a block-by-block pattern.Admiral Bebaus was in a hurry he left his fleet in plane space and had the recon fleets do a fly through of the system. When nothing was found he posted ships at the Sord and left looking for the missing enemy fleet. His haste would cost the empire dearly.
A fleet of five ships, one transport and four guard ships left the capital with replacement and transfer officers headed for the front. On board were forty five hundred command officers; among the Empire’s best and brightest included in this group were three of the five top Admirals in line for the Commanding Admirals position, which was held by Dusanyu.
Expecting first a refueling stopover at Palhun then to continue on to the front, as the first two guard ships exited plane space they were destroyed. The transport and one of the other two guard ships were destroyed before anyone knew what hit them. The fourth ship managed to escape and reported to headquarters what had happened. An investigation after the attack found that on the third moon of the closest planet to the Sord, an attack base was hiding in the thick cloud cover.
The United Mankind had prior knowledge of this transports schedule. Documents were found on the moon base showed that the transports arrival date and time. Before the fleet arrived a lone attack ship sped through the Sord drawing the patrol vessels away. The other six ships waited in ambush, it went off perfectly. Admiral Bebaus took the blame and was subsequently demoted one grade and given command of a patrol squadron instead of a fleet.
Dusanyu reorganized the fleet and became Captain of his own ship. Command officers were in short supply. One ship, one commanding officer, no exceptions, all other command officers were reassigned. Admirals up to the rank of Fleet Admiral would captain their own ships. The Empire eventually caught up, but Dasanyu’s orders stood. There was never a mass officer transfer again.
*********
Lafiel sat in her cabin looking at the clock He’s late. Just then the lift doors opened and footsteps were heard going down the corridor and around the corner. Good he’s off duty. She didn’t detain him very long. Lafiel had worried about how Ekuryua would treat Jinto after his promotion. She had been quite a burden to him when she had outranked him. Once Lafiel caught her being just plain mean to Jinto. The subject was “You shall call me Noel”. It was a silly discussion over how to address her; she insisted that since he called the captain by her first name it was only for him to address the second in command by her first name as well. They were in a corridor leading to the dining hall. Lafiel was coming from her quarters when she overheard the conversation. Noel was browbeating Jinto into submission. Lafiel arrived just in time.
“Jinto I don’t understand you’ve called her Lafiel as long as I’ve known you. It would be so simple to call me Noel.”
“I don’t know Ekuryua it just doesn’t feel right.”
“Jinto I could order you to, but it would be so much easier if you just gave in and did it”
With that Lafiel rounded the corner. “Captain, we were just talking” Ekuryua said. Lafiel cut her off. “I‘ve heard enough, you were warned before, now this ends it, you will obey my orders and leave supply Officer Lynn alone or I shall transfer you to the Hyde system and you can baby-sit Seelnay.”
After that Lafiel arranged the duty roster so Jinto would have a minimum of time with Ekuryua on the bridge when she wasn’t there. It had worked well and she wasn’t going to change it. With that Lafiel dimmed her cabin lights and retired for the night.
*********
Sobbash sat in her cabin; drink in hand staring at the 3D image coming from her communication console. It was the bridge scene between Lafiel and Jinto. She was studying it carefully, like a detective would look for clues. No doubt it she’s kissing him and he’s kissing her back. The recording played on. Lafiel would lean back from Jinto to respond to a question or when she gave her “Rebellion” statement. Lafiel stood their Jinto in her arms. Embracing and kissing him, with her hair draped over Jinto’s shoulders. However Jinto looked in a state of shock disbelief and total wonderment all at the same time, which leads Sobbash to believe this, was not a planned event.Well it’s time to collect on an old wager. Thought Sobbash while pressing a button on her console. “Communication Chief, open a channel to the Hyde fuel processing plant.” “Yes commander.” The voice replied. Her display flickered and a familiar figure appeared. “Sobbash it’s been a while.” Samson’s figure was still not very clear. ”I was getting worried I had not received a letter for some time. Now you’re calling me. Is everything alright?”
“I’m fine,” Sobbash said. “How much have you heard about Lafiel and Jinto?” “I know she made Admiral and the boy told me about the operation. Are they Okay?” asked Samson.
“I’ll let you decide that for yourself. I’m sending you a video file, a copy of some medical records and some personal notes. Here’s a preview.” Sobbash said with a smile. The screen blanks then goes to the bridge scene. Samson voice is heard in the background.
“I see. Looks like the boy became a man somewhere. Wait did he kiss her or did she start it.” Samson sounded confused. “Read my notes and call me if you still don’t understand.” Replied Sobbash. “You do not let Seelnay see this. I feel that you and Paveryua could not stop her.” Samson interrupted. “Tomasof’s here should I let him see this?”
“Since when did you need the chief of her private army there?” queried Sobbash. “We’ve had our own troubles here I’ll explain in my letter. Time is short I need to go nice talking with you.” She stopped him cold.
“OUR BET?” Sobbash demanded.
“Yes, a bottle of your favorite.” Samson admits.
“TWO”
“Right, we did increase it to two, as you wish it’s on the way. Good bye Sobbash.”
“Till next time Samson.” The channel closes.
*********
“This does not make any sense. Are you sure this is ALL the information from all the fleets?” The chief of the information bureau was angry as he spoke into the intercom. This was the second time in the last six months that information of fleet strengths and deployment did not make sense to him. Do we really out number the United Mankind twenty to one? They have to have a fleet hiding out there somewhere. He thought.The United Mankind had opened a number of closed Sords as a diversion to keep the Abh on their toes. Every open Sord was examined and a detail was left to protect plane space from any unauthorized intrusions. This was taking resources from the front lines. But in the last three years the Abh had not come across a superior United Mankind fleet. Where are they hiding? We could not have destroyed all of them, the numbers do not add up. The information chief was staring at his charts and graphs surrounding him. He was bewildered
*********
The twelve ships Lafiel commanded were on open Sord patrol. Their mission was to explore the three newly opened Sords. They were all along one side of plane space. The first opened into nothingness not a star or planet in sight for light years. This void was explored and two patrol ships were left to guard this Sord and then they were on to the next.Lafiel sat in her cabin surrounded by plane space and star charts. She wondered what they would find at the next Sord. She removed her personal log crystal from around her neck and inserted it into the reader on her desk. Images appeared around her. Family images of her father, grandmother and brother, the image of Plakia from her message to her and lastly several images of Jinto. She looked long and hard and thought.
“I will make you all proud of me.”
It had been two months since the now infamous scene on the bridge. Lafiel and Jinto had spent these last two months planning on what they would do if they came across a fleet of superior numbers. There had not been any personal chat time until now.
Jinto sat in his cabin with the last written report from Samson. His worried expression showed the impact of the information he was reviewing. Pirates had been attacking the fuel plant, and there had been little damage done until three days ago. This attack had caused a fuel transfer line to explode Paveryua and Seelnay were injured.
Paveryua’s arm was broken and Seelnay had had bumps and bruises from impacting a storage tank. These Pirates attacks were another United Mankind tactic to upset the normal balance of things. Jinto had approached Lafiel with this problem. She dispatched Tomasof to protect the plant. Jinto was now awaiting the next message from Samson. He would have to wait till they reached normal space. “I hope everything is alright.” Jinto spoke aloud.
The sound of his cabin chime brought him around. “Who is it?” asked Jinto. The voice on the other end brought an immediate “Open” from his lips. Lafiel entered the cabin. “So your still worried about the fuel plant?” Jinto nods “Yes Lafiel I would just like to hear that the problem is solved.” Lafiel sits next to him on the bed. “Jinto I understand, Tomasof will take care of it, you need not worry.” “I don’t understand Lafiel how can you trust him so, you know so little about him.”
“NO you are wrong Jinto, if it wasn’t for Tomasof, you would not be here or alive.” Lafiel continued. “He personally took Lobnas II apart to find you, a job I could not do. In fact it was all I could do to keep from crying while we looked for you. He will take care of things I’m sure of it. Lafiel shivered remembering Lobnas II. “Jinto I never want to go through anything like that again.”
Lafiel had a look on her face Jinto had seen just one time before on the planet when she cried and cried. He was hoping it wasn’t going to start again. “Lafiel are you “ she stopped him “Jinto I’m worried I’ve got a feeling we are going to bump into a overwhelming fleet and you and I won’t “
Jinto grabbed her hands and looked straight into the eyes of the most important person in his world and said. “Hey do you really feel that way? Is this a hunch or something like when we were trapped in plane space?” Lafiel’s face flushed her eyes narrowed.
“A hunch, NO Jinto. More like the feeling like I had when we left Gosroth. When I had to leave you at Lobnas II. A empty useless feeling.” Her face paled again it looked like the tears would follow shortly. Then suddenly she grabbed Jinto’s hands tighter than he had held hers. She pulled him towards her and kissed him softly on the cheek. I need to have little talks like this with you on a regular basis Jinto. I thank you for listening, for being here, for being you. Right now Jinto could you just hold me I want to feel you next to me.” Jinto held her. They stayed that way for a while.
She kissed him on the cheek again and said. “I feel better, will you join me for dinner Chief of Staff Lynn?” Jinto smiled. “Yes Admiral Ablïarsec I’d be happy to.” She gave him a big hug and left the cabin. Jinto watched as Lafiel left. The door closed, he sat on the edge of his bed; a warm content feeling came over him. Sitting there he though. “I don’t know what she saw or what I said to her. She’s become something very special and I don’t want to lose her. I want to stay with her, forever and I now know she feels the same way.” Rising from his bed he readies himself for dinner.
*********
The cabin door shut behind her. Lafiel found herself in the corridor leading back to her cabin. She wanted to spend the rest of the day with Jinto however her duties would not let her. The short walk back to her cabin left her aware of how lonely her life has been. She had just left Jinto, yet she wanted to turn around and head back to his cabin. Opening the door and entering her cabin, the door closes behind her. She slowly looked around the room; she had left it two hours earlier, now it looked different, so cold and lonely. What’s happening, why does everything seem so different? Why do I feel like I don’t belong here? Staring in her mirror, she still looked the same as she had when she left. Readying herself for dinner and checked her messages and leaves the cabin.This ship was not like the Basroil. It was a large ship with three times the crew. She no longer had the responsibility of operating it by herself. Never any good at relaxing during her off duty time, she had learned to relax when she and Jinto went to the Hyde system. She had completely let herself go on the planet during that last vacation. Now here she was in a place where she felt she could not relax on duty, on patrol, in space. She wished she were somewhere else. She had found relaxation in Jinto’s arms on the bridge and in his cabin. I cannot make a habit of those public displays. It would hurt the crew’s moral. She mused. The time for dinner had arrived; leaving her cabin she headed for the dining hall.
Dinner with Jinto was a quiet event there was very little conversation. After dinner they went to the bridge to start their watch. Jinto was scanning the plane space as they approached the next Sord. It was twenty hours away. “It seems so empty this plane space,” Jinto thought.
Lafiel sat watching her console, “This is so boring, so empty, this Sord then one more and we can go home, back to the Capital.” Lafiel was daydreaming on the bridge when Jinto approached her. “Our duty shift is about over, how about a night cap Admiral?” asked Jinto. “No I want to go straight to my cabin Commander Lynn.” Lafiel replied.
The next crew arrived and Jinto and Lafiel left the bridge together. In the lift Jinto became concerned. “Lafiel are you alright? You were not yourself tonight. Did I say or do something wrong?”
“Not at all Jinto, I’m not myself, I want to be alone for a while, I’ll call for you later, Okay?” She was at her cabin door. “Okay Lafiel” replied Jinto as he kept walking down the corridor. With that she entered her cabin, that dark lonely cabin.
*********
Jinto entered his cabin and sat at his communications console. “Computer” Jinto inquired. “Yes” the computer answered. “Monitor Admiral Ablïarsec quarters report any changes in the Admiral’s vital signs, awaken me if necessary.” “Monitoring.” The computer replied. Jinto changed and went to bed.*********
Sitting at her mirror Lafiel sat looking at the person in the reflection. “Why these doubts why now.” She thought back. “This feeling I had it when the Gosroth was destroyed. When I lost the Basroil when I almost lost this ship.” She addresses the food unit “Computer a hot Teal Nom with lope in it.” A drink appears she takes it and stares back at the mirror. She sits sipping the drink studying the person in the mirror. She could not focus; she was there but not aware of her surroundings. She fell asleep on the table facing the mirror. It would not be a peaceful sleep.“Commander Lynn.” The computer’s voice brought Jinto around. “Yes” Jinto responded. “The Admiral is sleeping, yet her breathing and brain activity indicate a extreme emotional event is occurring.” Abh computers do not use the word “Nightmare” Abh’s are not supposed to have them. “I understand continue monitoring.” Jinto replied, he slipped into his pants and shirt and left his cabin.
The short walk to Lafiel’s cabin was done in record time. Her door was locked. A quick push of three buttons and the door opened for Jinto. What he found was disturbing. Lafiel’s cabin was a wreck. The mirror was broken, and the Teal Nom thrown at it glass and Teal Nom littered the floor.
Lafiel was leaning against her bed with a look of anger on her face; her eyes closed her breathing rapid. Jinto closed the door behind him. He had been told never to wake a person in the middle of a nightmare. But the person he loved was laying on the floor in front of him in mental anguish. He was going to help her like she had done so for him before. “Lafiel” he grabbed her arms awaiting a violent response. It did not take long, however it was not her arms but her feet that came to life suddenly. The first foot caught him in the ribs and as he let go of her hands, they also came to life. A hand to the side of his face that was followed by a foot to his shin had Jinto grabbing any flying arm or leg he could get a hold of. “Lafiel!!” he screamed.
Her eyes opened wide, and her face went pale when she stared at Jinto. It took a moment for her to realize who was there and then she said “Jinto you’re bleeding. What has happened? Why are we on the floor? How did the mirror get broken? Who tore your shirt? Why do I hurt all over?” She looked at her hand it was covered with blood, Jinto’s blood. “I did this to you?” Jinto nodded. “You had a nightmare and a violent one at that.”
Disbelief was Lafiel first feeling, then the realization she had done all the damage she saw around her dawned upon her. “Jinto let me look at that cut on your face. You’re still bleeding.” “Okay Lafiel just watch where you put your hands the floor is covered with glass.” It took a while for Lafiel stopped Jinto’s bleeding. Together they cleaned up her room. He left to change his shirt and he told her he would be right back. Being a short distance from her cabin afforded Jinto the chance to get to his cabin, stop the computer’s monitoring, get a clean shirt and return in less than two minuets.
Jinto entered Lafiel’s cabin she was sitting facing the wall where the mirror had been. The sound of the door opening brought her around. She looked at him “You were not that violent back on the planet. I am so sorry Jinto.” The words were failing her. She sat there looking at him knowing she hurt him more than he had hurt her and just could not find the words to express her genuine sorrow in what she had done.
“It’s okay Lafiel you did not do it on purpose.” Jinto assured her. “Do you remember what brought this about?” She explained her feelings about the Gosroth, Basroil, their recent brushes with death and other feelings she had been carrying around inside her.
“Lafiel” Said Jinto as he looked her straight in the face “ As your Chief of Staff I must ask you a question. Do you feel you’re fit to command this squadron?” A look of bewilderment greeted his question. She knew that regulations required Jinto to ask that question and it was not a question she could avoid answering. “Jinto at this moment I do not feel I can handle this squadron. I can not focus, I can not think straight.” That was her answer.
Jinto called the bridge “Duty officer, I want the time to the next Sord to return to the capital.” “Two days” was the reply. “Advise the squadron we are returning to the capital at the best speed possible.” Jinto had just aborted their mission and in doing so he had just saved their lives.
To be continued In Mind Games.
