Star date on star base (ep. 10)

Here I am alone with my thoughts & memories again. Alone on the command deck of a once-great star base.  5,000 capacity reduced to a skeleton crew of 5.

But it's different now. I have a job to do. Remember my training. It's not about me. I need to  study the logs.  Focus outside of myself.

I bring up the base schematic to study. Star Base 8 is two hundred years old. It was the last built. The only one that survives.

It connected distant parts of the galaxy. It had hustle & bustle. Never a dull moment.

Then a worm hole was discovered. Eventually everybody started taking the short cut. The military took it over as a strategic remote observation post. In case of war they could spin it back up.

The star base is shaped like  a giant disk. Thin at the center. Thick at the edges. It rotates.

The cargo bays, theaters, auditoriums, observation decks are at the periphery. Passenger cabins are the middle band. Command is near the center.

Apparent gravity is lighter in the center & heavier at the edges. So the ring of cabins has normal Earth gravity.

I hear the ring of the micro screen. I see the face of Lieutenant. I answer.

He says, "David. I see you on the camera. Keep studying. Keep playing with the schematic & you see the menu of all the cameras on base. The ones that still work.

"Captain's not coming down there this evening. He has upset stomach from the real food. Like you had. Everybody else feels fine.

"William will relieve you at midnight. Try to stay professional. Tomorrow's another day."

I say, "Yessir. Until tomorrow."

The micro screen freezes the final frame. And records everything for convenient play-back. 

That's right. I'm waiting for William to walk through that door. Will he be wearing the sexy tank top & track pants like earlier today. Barefoot in this sauna. 

I bet life support from most of the star base is diverted to heat the deck. Not that I'm complaining. I don't love the freezing cold 

I check the logs again. I see the meteor shower days before my hyper pod arrived. I check the video. It was a surprise to the crew.

But, what I call the "weather archive" of external radars shows clearly a meteor cloud headed this way. They had a possible day's notice. 

I guess that's why I'm here. A meteor shower is like a hailstorm of rocks. The center of the star base is reinforced against attack.

The rocks pass right through the outer edges of the disk. But life support is turned off. So it doesn't matter much.

William enters the command deck. It's one minute before midnight. He's wearing track pants & Tshirt & deck shoes without socks. He'll probably take them off & walk around barefoot.

I can't help but feel nervous & sexual tension as he walks toward me. I feel a tingle in my pants. That's for damn sure.

I'm standing in the center of the command deck facing the big screen. In the acoustic dead zone. The lights are automatically dimmed to simulate nighttime back on Earth.

William shakes my hand. He holds it a little long. He squeezes a little too tight. He stands a little too close. He makes eye contact.

He says:

"I'm sorry David. I was abrupt earlier today. I'm nervous when I meet new people. Until I get to know them.

"Tomorrow is Sunday. I happen to know on Monday you & I are supposed to go to the outer star base. Assess the damage from the meteor shower. Start making repairs. 

"There's no oxygen out there. So we can't kiss. But we can hold hands. (He smirks.)

"I thought maybe we could go out there tomorrow. Just you & me. To show initiative. To get oriented. To look at the space radars from the observation decks. We will stay inside the base."

William puts his hand on my shoulder & says:

"What do you think? Let me make it up to you. Let's be friends. Build confidence. Build morale."

All I can think about is the tingle in my pants. My attraction to him is intense. I place my hand on his shoulder & say:

"You know I have a boyfriend. If I didn't, I would jump your bones right now. I just don't want to lead myself into temptation."

I look down at my erection. William follows my eyes. He sees the bulge in my pants. I look at his crotch. No bulge.

William: "You don't have to. I thought it would be fun & informal. Better exercise than the treadmill. We can wait til Monday."

I say, "No! I want to. A couple radars were damaged. Call it a bro date."

William: "Okay bro. Get the hell off my deck. I have pornos to watch & masturbating to do."

We both sport flirtatious grins. At least I feel like we're both flirting. William sticks out his fist. I return the fist bump.

Before I exit, I look back to check out William. To see if he's checking me out. He is! We both wave.

I'm back in my quarters. Alone with my thoughts & the memory of what just happened. 

I feel excited & exhausted. My mind has calmed down further. I have good morale, high spirits.

As I drift quickly off to sleep, I imagine I'm in a throuple with Jacob & William. The three of us cuddle & caress as I fall asleep.

Episode 11