This choice: Male on otherwise-female crew. • Go Back...Chapter #4David Lerner, Navigator by: Teraton   BANG BANG BANG
"Come on, Lerner, open up. Busy day today."
David slowly rubbed the sleep from his eyes. As much time as he had spent learning about life on a ship, actually experiencing it was another thing altogether. Here, nearing the end of his first voyage, he still had to look around and readjust himself to his cabin whenever he woke up and remembered where he was. He was lanky, though not in bad shape- you had to be at a decent level of fitness to be allowed to travel like this. As he came to a sitting position on his bed, hand running through his bed-headed hair, he pulled at his grungy t-shirt and boxers, hoping to straighten them out a little bit. Captain Jensen was far from a military commander, but Dave still felt like he needed to try and appear presentable. Even if that presentable was just out of bed.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming... uh, Captain, ma'am."
The banging on the door stopped as David fumbled for the switch, staggering slightly to a standing position. The metal door slid open, revealing his Captain, one miss Jane Jensen. She was an inch or two shorter than David, thought definitely beat him out when it came to musculature. With her clear, dark skin and neat black braids, she cut an impressive figure in her regulation captain's jacket. Still, underneath her stern eyes was a warm, if small, smile, and she had always been fair to the members of her crew. David thought he saw her expression waver for a moment as her eyes darted down his body and back again, but he kept himself gazing into her eyes as she addressed him.
"Alright, Lerner, we let you sleep this long cause we know you aren't used to space travel yet," Jane began, folding her arms over a chest that David couldn't stop his sleepy brain from noticing the size of, "but we've got a lot to do today. Ship's due back on Earth in about 48 hours. I know you're probably sick of hearing me say it, but just because so much of the ship is automated..."
"...doesn't mean we should stop paying attention to it," David finished, smiling a bit. "I hear you, Captain."
Captain Jensen returned the smile and nodded. "I'm glad to hear you agree. As our Navigator, I want you to check the ship's flight path one more time. Make sure we're touching down when, where, and how we should be, etc. Routine stuff."
David offered a loose salute, his hand dropping back down barely after touching his forehead. "Aye, aye, Captain." He blushed a bit as his stomach growled. "Uh, don't suppose I could stop for breakfast first, huh?"
The Captain chuckled. "Go ahead; Dana's even pulled some of the produce out of stasis for a fruit salad before we touch down. Though, um..." Here, the Captain paused, eyes wandering up to the ceiling of the corridor. Her smile seemed to get wider, but there was a hint of red on her cheeks. "Before you head out to meet the rest of the crew, you should probably take care of something..."
David stared at her confused for a moment, looking first up to where she was looking, and then down to what she was referring to. His face flushed as he finally acknowledged the tent in his boxers, his own sleep-addled body keeping him from noticing his own morning wood previously. With a short yelp, he brought his hands down to cover himself, and managed to cough out a "Yes, ma'am." Captain Jensen just laughed a little more, winking at him before telling him to get moving and walking off. David stayed like that a moment more, before quickly slamming the door shut and leaning against it with a groan.
Living on a spaceship was one thing to get used to, but for David, a kind but reclusive boy growing up, living with women was another. He was the only guy on their 6 person crew, and while it was fine most of the time, there were a few times where things felt a little... odd. Not necessarily bad, but definitely odd. He was lucky that the Captain had personally come to wake him up- there were other women on the ship who wouldn't have let him off with just a little teasing.
Still, he couldn't sit there all day moaning over one little embarrassing incident; he had work to do, after all. Their mining expedition had been a huge success, and they were coming back to huge acclaim! No time to slouch, David told himself, time to give the ship one last once over and coast back down to a celebration on solid Earth.
Climbing to his feet and stretching, David quickly...   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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