It was blistering hot on deck. In fact, it was hot everywhere in the ship. It wasn't ordinary heat either; the heat had actually a few Hiigarans and Taiidani in sick bay. Jeil wasn't normally one to complain, but it had gotten to him, too. If it weren't for the captain's permission to walk around deck practically naked, everyone on the ship would have passed out. Even worse, Engineering started complaining about some breakdown in the engine room. Jeil overheard them say that it was irreparable with the parts available. Everyone knew what that meant. Normally, a damage control team in the buffer zone would've been sent long ago. However, the Pride of Sajuuk was parked right outside the maximum range for communications, so a squad of pilots had been sent out to relay the transmission closer to Republican territory. So, for about six hours or so, everyone last one of the pilots and crew of the Pride of Sajuuk had to suffer through this painful, scorching heat.
Jeil, nearly asleep in the barracks and covered only in his undershirt and boxers, didn't want to move. His back hurt enough from the weight room's punishment, and his head burned from the heat. When the barracks door suddenly slid open, he slowly rose in bed and looked at who was walking in. Amazingly enough, it was Jerril, and she looked nearly as scorched as he was, and equally clad. She had on her sportswear, so Jeil suspected she had been down in the weight room herself. Her brown, clipped hair showed of sweat, and her arms of exhaustion.
"You nearly as hot as I am?" Jeil moaned weakly. Normally, Jerril would have some snide remark. Instead, she didn't seem to be in the mood to be snide. Harsh, maybe, but not snide.
"Don't push it," she growled. "I'm hot. I'm sticky. I really don't want to have to beat you to a pulp right now." Wow. She didn't even want to touch Jeil.
"Whoo-wee," Jeil replied sarcastically. "I guess I must feel lucky or something like that." Jerril threw on one of her light white shirts, mumbling curses at Jeil's sarcasm. Or maybe just at Jeil altogether.
"All right," she said quietly. "You want to know why I'm so mad?" She was now facing Jeil's bunk, eyeing him angrily. Grinning, Jeil replied to her.
"Sure," he said, lying back in bed. "Why not?" Ignoring the fact that Jeil was on the verge of laughter from her shape, Jerril started.
"First of all, I'd like to start off by saying that it annoys the heck out of me when you do that," she commented, referring to Jeil's tapping on the wall. Nearly instantly, he stopped. "Now the real deal. That vampire Commander Terrs has me going out on another hour-long patrol." She couldn't help but notice that Jeil was nearly dead laughing in his bunk. "Will you SHUTUP? I guess you wouldn't mind coming along with me." Jeil sat up in his bunk and, restraining his laughter, spoke.
"Actually, I wouldn't mind it," he told her. "In fact, I've been dying of boredom inside of this Republican junk. Why not die doing something in another?" He had a point. Boredom and heat had gotten to the entire crew. Well, maybe just the heat.
"Fine then," Jerril replied, grabbing her gear. "Meet me down in the ready room. We'll see if you're really that bored." If there was one thing that Jeil hated most about that girl was her constant daring and "we'll see" stuff.
"All right," he shouted as she walked out the door. "Maybe you won't be so hot and sticky in that cockpit then."
The shoe missed him by a matter of inches.