An Officer’s Duty (30 page)

APRIL 3, 2493 T.S.

The beep was hard to hear, but at least she knew when it was coming. Closing her writing station, Ia got up from her bed and crossed to the front door. The noise of the shower pounding away through the closed bathroom door drowned out the faint sound of the panel sliding open. On the other side, waiting for her, the grey-clad, red-haired older woman smiled warmly at Ia.

“Hello, Ia.”

Ia rolled her eyes and saluted. “Commander.”

Commander Christine Benjamin, chaplain and psychologist, saluted her back. “Cadet. So, how have you been?”

“I’ve been just fine, thank you.” Softening her expression into a smile—since she was glad to see the other woman—Ia leaned her shoulder on the doorjamb. “You could even say I’ve been taking it easy. Mind you, the workload is heavy, but at least no one’s trying to kill me, here at the Academy. So, what
brings you all the way to Portugal, Bennie? Did you have a good flight?”

“As good as could be expected. In their infinite wisdom, my superiors figured I could use at least one tour of duty planet-side at this point in time,” she explained. She gestured at the room, and Ia obediently stepped back, letting her enter. Once inside, Bennie looked around, nodded in satisfaction at the neatly organized quarters, and borrowed the chair from Ia’s desk. Unbuttoning the jacket of her Dress Greys, she seated herself and propped her feet up on the foot of Ia’s bed. “Your bed’s a mess. You should neaten that up before Inspection.”

“For one, it’s Sunday, and that means there’s no inspection until tomorrow morning. For another, I was sitting on it just now. Do you want anything to drink?” Ia offered, gesturing at the caf’ dispenser above her desk.

Bennie shook her head. Ia smiled ruefully and returned to her place at the head of the bed. She knew the outcome of this conversation—mostly, save for whatever input her temporally mysterious roommate might add—but she still had to make a show of ignorance. Pushing aside her writing pad, she settled against the pillows.

“Let me guess,” Ia murmured. “Since you were in the vicinity, you decided to drop in and check up on an old friend while en route to your new station, right?”

“This
is
my new station,” Bennie corrected her. “And you’re not that old—by the way, happy birthday in advance. It’s tomorrow, isn’t it?”

“You’re a month late. My birthday’s March 4th, not April 4th,” Ia told her.

“
Ah.
Well, happy birthday anyway,” Bennie amended. “The Chaplaincy Division figures someone with my experience at counseling active-duty soldiers will ‘hopefully be able to prepare these up-and-coming young officers for the rigors, trials, and tribulations of real-world command.’ Presuming, of course, that I turn out to be well-suited to dealing with a bunch of cadets. I’ve been told it requires a somewhat different skill set than tending to the religious and mental needs of a Border ship—I trust having me back in your life for a little while isn’t going to drive you mad?”

Ia snorted. Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around
her knees and gave the older woman a wry, borderline sardonic look. “Not at all. I like you. But I do have the sudden impression of a dozen sticky DoI fingerprints all over this situation, and
that
might drive me mad.”

Bennie laughed at that. She slouched a little bit more in the chair, lacing her fingers across her silver grey dress shirt. “You always did have a keen, quick grasp of a situation.
Yes
, they want me to keep an eye on you in specific while I’m here. I am to gauge your ‘suitability for continued service in stressful situations’ or some such rot.”

Ia sighed and sat back with a faint smile, satisfied. “Blockade Patrol.” She broadened her smile at the chaplain’s surprised look. “As you yourself said, Bennie, I have a keen grasp of the situation. I am provably stable in moderate combat zones. The Space Force is desperate for soldiers who can withstand the rigors of a truly heavy combat zone. If I can handle Blockade duty as well as I handled the Border, then they’ll
want
me to handle it.”

“And you don’t mind?” Bennie asked her. The sound of the shower cut off in the bathroom.

“I can probably do a lot of good on a Blockade post,” Ia admitted. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“It’s good to hear your confidence in your own abilities. But do you really think you can handle the stress? Even in a hot spot Border zone like the
Liu Ji
traveled, the potential for combat is only once or twice a week,” Bennie said. “Blockade, it’s once and twice and even more, each and every day. However much the politicians may try to whitewash it, the Blockade Zone
is
a war zone.”

Ia smiled wryly. “Well, I guess it looks like I’ll find out. Think they’ll drag you along with me?”

It was Bennie’s turn to smile wryly. “Now that, I don’t know. I guess we’ll see—oh, that reminds me, Sergeant Spyder says hello. Or rather, he says…let me see if I can get this right… ‘Why doncha say ’ello t’ the li’l white dove fer me, eh? Tell ’er we’re missin’ our bloody-winged cardinal a’ doom, an’ if she ever gets reassigned t’ the
Liu Ji
—though she’s a right bloody traitor, skippin’ out onna Marines like that—tell ’er she’s gotta blow us grunts a liddle kiss fer good luck, eh?’”

With just the first sentence, Bennie’s rather mangled version of her old Company mate’s accent reduced Ia to giggles. The
bathroom door slid open, and her roommate poked his damp head through the opening. The rest of him followed, equally bare and damp, save for the white towel wrapped haphazardly around his hips. Ia, still guffawing, choked on her own spit at his appearance.

“My god, Ia, you’re actually
laughing
?” he exclaimed, staring at Ia. It took him a few steps forward to realize there was another woman in the room, and a stumbled half step after that to realize she was an officer. “Wha—Oh, my g—Sir!”

Snapping to Attention, he saluted—and broke the salute awkwardly, grabbing at the hem of the towel. Cheeks pink, he straightened and resumed the salute, free hand clutching his only covering carefully in place.

He also wasn’t the only one who blushed. Bennie did a double-take, looking back at his state of undress, then glanced back at Ia, who was wide-eyed and red-faced. At the speculative lift of the chaplain’s brows, Ia groaned and hid her face in her hands. Chuckling, Bennie addressed Harper.

“At Ease, Cadet. This is just an informal visit. Feel free to,
ah
, go about your business or whatever.”

Ia peeked between her fingers, mortified at the amusement coloring Bennie’s tone. The older woman was smiling at her roommate. Still flushed, he edged over to his wardrobe drawers and quickly grabbed a set of clothes, then retreated back to the bathroom for the privacy to change. She couldn’t blame him. Under normal circumstances, neither of them had been very body-conscious. They didn’t exactly lounge around naked, but neither had hesitated to strip or dress in front of the other. This, however, was not exactly a normal circumstance.

The moment the bathroom door shut, Bennie let out a rush of breath. “
V’dayamn
—and I’ll say penance for swearing later—but that cadet has some rather nice muscles on him. What does he do, lift weights in his spare time?”

Face still a bit warm, Ia slid her hands from her face, crossing her arms. “More like a weight suit. He’s a heavyworlder. Dabin, 1.85Gs. His mother’s been stationed there with the Joint Human Research & Development Corps from before he was conceived. He said her superiors were glad she got pregnant on a heavyworld, since that gave them that much more excuse to keep her working on various R&D collaborations with the
V’Dan military. Apparently she’s some sort of mechanical genius, and it looks like her son’s taking after her.”

“Oh? How so?” Bennie asked.

Ia nodded at the closed door. “He’s managed some rather amazing off-the-cuff repairs on board the
da Gama
, our simulation ship. I’d suggest to the DoI the idea of sending him out either to a deep space survey ship or to a Border Patrol. Anywhere that needs a competent officer in charge of quick and dirty repairs.”

“Border, but not a Blockade Patrol?” Bennie asked, glancing over her shoulder at the door. She looked back at Ia. “Wouldn’t you want him on your own ship, if he’s that good at making things work?”

Unbidden, another blush warmed her face. “I really don’t think that would be necessary…”

The chaplain scooted up a little in her seat, green eyes narrowing. “Ia…are you
attracted
to him?”

Her cheeks burned. Bennie widened her eyes, then started to snicker. Ia glared. The other woman’s mirth morphed quickly into outright giggles, including a few undignified snorts.

“It is
not
that funny, Bennie,” Ia hissed under her breath, embarrassed further by the thought that Harper might be listening to the two of them through the bathroom door.

“Oh, yes it is!” Bennie squeaked, bright red from her half-suppressed laughter.

Oddly enough, that killed her urge to blush. Sobering, Ia settled a stern look on her friend. “No, it isn’t.
Nothing
will happen between us. We are fellow cadets and roommates. Nothing more.”

Settling down a little, Bennie wiped at the corners of her eyes with the edge of her hand. “Pity. But that situation can change. After you graduate…Wait, is he on a fast-track program like you? Or…?”

“He’s fast-track like me, but as soon as I get out of here, I go off to my pilot certification classes, and he goes off to wherever the military sends him.” Sobered—even slightly depressed—Ia sighed. “Bennie, he’s a good friend. I do like him. But that’s all it’s going to be. Now, can we change the subject? In case he feels trapped in there, wondering what we’re talking about behind his back?”

“Oh, fine. Spoil my good mood,” Bennie teased. She quickly lifted a hand at Ia’s pointed look. “Okay, okay…Tell me what life is like, here at the Academy.”

Glad for the change in topic, Ia obeyed. A few seconds later, a remarkably calm-looking Meyun emerged from the bathroom, neatly dressed in his cadet blues. She broke off long enough to formally introduce the two, then went back to telling Bennie about life at the Academia de Marinha Estrelas. Apparently deciding the previous incident was being politely forgotten, he grabbed the chair from his desk, straddled the back of it, and joined the conversation.

It did not escape Ia’s notice that Chaplain Benjamin subtly interrogated Cadet Harper about himself and his opinions of Ia. It also did not escape her notice that Harper interrogated Bennie just as subtly about her opinions of Ia, and Bennie’s memories of her days on board the
Liu Ji
.

They were in the middle of discussing one of the
Liu Ji
’s many escapades when the doorbell buzzed again. Sighing, Ia rose from the bed, gesturing for Harper to sit back down. “Keep talking, I’ve got this.”

Crossing to the door, she palmed it open. And stared. Stared, and glanced sharply over her shoulder before looking back at the short, brown-uniformed man waiting in the hallway. This, she had
not
foreseen.

“What the slagging hell
is
this?” Ia finally demanded, eyeing the man in front of her. “Old home week?—Please, Sergeant, come in and be welcome. I’m just going to bang my head against the wall here for a few minutes while the three of you make the necessary introductions…”

“What the hell are you going on about, Cadet Ia?” Sergeant Tae ordered.

“Uncle!” Bounding up from his chair, Meyun hurried to greet the shorter man. Ia flattened herself against the bathroom door, astonished to see her former chief drill instructor grinning and embracing her roommate. Harper even picked up the stout Marine a few inches as they hugged, then set him back on his feet. “You said you weren’t sure if you’d be able to drop by on your way to London!”

“Well, here I am. Now what the hell are you doing with
this
pain in the asteroid in your quarters?” Tae asked, poking his thumb at Ia.

“I told you, she’s my roommate,” Meyun said.

“No, you told me she was your
classmate
,” Tae countered.

“Well, I’m sorry the exact terminology slipped my mind, Uncle.” Meyun paused and looked between the two of them. “How about you telling me how
you
know her? Or rather, how she knows you?”

Ia recovered her voice, glancing at Harper. “
This
is your uncle?”

“
Yes
, this is my uncle,” her roommate confirmed. “Uncle, this is Cadet Ia. Ia, this is Master Sergeant Ulliong Tae, TUPSF-Marine Corps,” he stated, gesturing between the two of them.

Squaring her shoulders, Ia nodded politely at her former drill sergeant. “Congratulations on your promotion, Master Sergeant.”

“Thank you, Cadet,” Tae replied just as politely. “Congratulations on your Field Commission.”

“Thank you, Sergeant.” She fell silent, feeling a bit awkward at having been caught unawares.
Not that it’s been the first time. And I should’ve realized why;
anything
to do with Meyun, here, has a bad habit of not showing up on my precognitive radar…

A throat cleared itself from further in the room. Ia quickly mended the breach, gesturing for both males to finish entering the room.

“Ah, Sergeant, this is Commander Christine Benjamin, Special Forces Chaplaincy Division, formerly assigned to the same ship and Border Patrol as myself. Bennie, this is Master Sergeant Ulliong Tae, my former drill instructor from Marines Basic…and apparently my roommate’s uncle.”

The pair saluted politely, Bennie sitting up a bit straighter in her chair. Meyun offered his chair to his uncle, dropping onto his bed for a seat. Ia resettled onto hers. She felt a little awkward in doing so, given the surprise of her old drill instructor’s visit and his connection to her blank spot of a roommate. Glancing from face to face, Bennie cleared her throat.

“I have a suggestion. Why don’t Ia and I take a tour of the Academy grounds while the two of you catch up? I’m going to
be stationed here, so I can always chat with you later, Cadet Harper,” she offered politely.