FRIENDSHIP
By the next morning, Lucas and Shep were pretty certain that their prank on Ben Krieg was going to be the joke of
the century. Shep relied on Lucas to tell him about Ben's personality as much as possible, but once Shep was told
that Ben was a joker himself, together they worked out the prank of the century.
Whilst everyone was sleeping that night and Ben was on duty on the Bridge, Lucas and Shep stole into his room to
grab a few of Ben's possessions. They grabbed firstly his clock radio that he used as an alarm and then they grabbed
whatever extra U.E.O. uniforms were in the closet. Luckily for them it was almost wash day and Ben had managed
to whittle his large stash down to just two uniforms.
Once they were back in the seclusion of Lucas's quarters, they went about splitting the jobs at hand. They only had
a few hours to pull this off and they needed to make sure that everything was back in just the right spot in Ben's
room before he finished his shift.
Lucas won the longer straw and was secretly relieved to find his job was taking apart the mechanical components
of the clock radio and re-scrambling them so that the alarm would go off at a pre-set time.
Shep's task on the hand was a little more difficult. They wanted to alter Ben's uniforms and take them in at the waist
slightly so that they would be extra tight fitting when Ben went to get dressed the next morning. He would still be able
to put them on but they would be noticeably narrower.
Lucas had to admit he was no seamstress and could barely sew a button onto his own clothes when needed. Once
the buttons came off his shirts, he normally left them until they had no buttons at all or until at least Kristen got sick
of seeing them on wash day with no buttons and took over the mending herself.
By 5.00am all the necessary arrangements had been made and the two of them were just about ready to sit back
and let the festivities begin. Neither of them had any idea that there was another person on board who also had
a prank up her sleeve to pull on her ex-husband. She couldn't stand the challenge thrown at her by Ben either.
Her joke was on a more intimate level and she knew that her ex-partner would be as red as a beetroot when it
all finished.
**************************************************************************************
About 6.00am the next morning and approximately 6 hours until they were at the Munitions Depot, Ben slowly and
tiredly trudged off the Bridge and headed towards his own quarters. The first stop was only brief as he only stayed
long enough to grab a few personal toiletries, a towel and a change of clothes which consisted of a part of shorts
and a t-shirt.
Ben felt so tired that he didn't see anything out of the ordinary when he entered the officer's bathroom and put down
his belongings on the seat in the middle of the room. He walked over to the shower cubicle and pressed the various
controls to take water shower.
Once he was in the shower cubicle, Ben removed the uniform he was wearing and draped them over the door, including
his underwear and socks. The only things that were left on the floor were his shoes, which were placed just under the
doorway.
Within a few minutes, Ben was too busy working out the tiredness and stiffness in his muscles and had his back turned
towards the door to see anybody approach.
A pair of slender hands quickly snuck underneath the shower's door and removed the pair of shoes, followed by the
clothes hanging over the door. The unplanned intruder then also removed the short and shirt and underwear sitting
on the seat outside the cubicle. The only things left in the officer's bathroom were Ben's toothbrush container and
his small drawstring bag which contained after shave and soap.
Katie Hitchcock could barely suppress the laughter she felt as she tried to picture her husband's face when he exited
the shower. She didn't know how he was going to make it back to his room without his clothes. This thought only
made her snicker more in laughter as she made it down the corridor towards her own quarters and stowed Ben's
clothing in there.
Katie was also unaware of the prank that Lucas and Shep were also about to pull on Ben Krieg.
Ben Krieg turned off the controls to his water shower and whilst still rubbing at his eyes, made a blind grab for the towel
he remembered hanging on the hook just outside the door only a few minutes earlier.
He frowned a little when his hand failed to meet with fabric and he now opened his eyes and looked towards the
hook. It was there alright, but no towel was hanging there. Ben started to look around the small cubicle for the other
place that his towel might be.
He frowned even more when it seemed to be no where in sight. He tried to think of what had happened to his towel
in such a short space of time. Ben's mind started to take him back to a particular conversation he could remember
being involved in the night before starting work. Where he had all but challenge Lucas and his old-time friend to who
was the best at pulling pranks.
He smiled slightly when he thought about it and had to give the boys credit. The move had been a bold one, almost
like what he would have pulled on somebody. His smile quickly faded though as he come back to the problem of
what he was going to do.
Ben grumbled loudly when it seemed that he would have to put his old uniform over his clean but very wet body and
then change into his spare clothes once he was back in his quarters. The feeling of clothes over a wet body wasn't
one he was particularly looking forward to.
He cursed out loud and now opened the cubicle door. The next expression on his face as he surveyed the vacant
room was one of shock as he looked upon the seat where he knew to have left his clothes and saw that only his
soap bag and toothbrush holder remained.
"What the Hell…………………" he started to say out loud. It was only now that he noticed the clothes he had
hung over the doorway were also missing. He quickly concealed himself behind the door again as he realised he
was butt naked without a piece of cloth and a long way from his quarters.
"I am going to kill those two" he said in mock anger. "Right after I figure out how to get the hell out of this mess"
he told himself. He had to admit if he wasn't on the receiving end of this prank, he would have to congratulate
the people responsible. For now however, he would be just as happy to wring their necks when he finally got a
hold of them.
He looked around the larger bathroom, trying to spot something that would hide his nakedness long enough to
scramble back to his room. At first, he couldn't see anything useful at all. Then after scanning the room a third
time in desperation, he spotted a large circular receptacle that was used as a garbage bin. He looked particularly
at the size of it and was happy to see that the large round lid would at least be enough to hide his maleness from
anybody he might inadvertently meet in the corridor.
He looked carefully over the top of the doorway first, making sure that nobody was coming in. When he was
satisfied that he would be okay for a second or two, he scooted out the door and ran towards the round bin.
He picked up the lid and now held it protectively in front of him like some ancient warrior. He looked down at
himself and then in a long mirror on the wall and was dismayed with how stupid he actually looked. He could also
see that his cheeks were still visible to the whole world.
"Nothing I can do about that now" he said grimly. There were no other bin lids in the room. He would just have
to run as fast as he had ever done in his life and hope nobody come up behind him.
He now walked over to the doorway to the officer's bathroom and peer out along it in both directions to make
sure that nobody was coming. He sighed in relief when he saw it was empty. Lucky for him that it was still
reasonably early onboard and people probably wouldn't start moving about for another hour or so.
There was another doorway to the officer's bathroom from the corridor parallel to this one. Ben hadn't thought
his moves through long enough to suspect anybody would be entering the room from the other doorway. The
first thing they would be greeted with was Ben Krieg from behind, bare cheeks and all.
Captain Nathan Bridger had risen about the same time as Ben had walked off the Bridge. There was going to
be a lot happening today and he wanted to be there to make sure everything went smoothly enough.
He was dressed in a clean uniform, ready to go onto the Bridge and speak to Commander Ford about the preparations
that still needed to be done before lunch time when they were scheduled to dock at the Munitions Depot.
Bridger grabbed at his comb and toothbrush, ready to make the rest of him a least presentable. He didn't feel right
when his hair wasn't comb properly or his teeth brushed.
There was only a short distance between his quarters and the officer's bathroom. He rounded the corner of the
corridor and prepared to enter through the doorway. He could scarcely believe the sight he was greeted with on the
other side of the room.
At first his reaction had been one of total shock, but that quickly faded as he recognized who the naked buttocks
belonged to. His presence hadn't been noticed yet and he had to stifle back the laughter he felt at such a site. The
black hair and the tall, muscular frame gave away the person's identity. Bridger didn't need to think hard who might
be responsible for such a prank. They had all been talking about it only the night before when talking to Lucas and
his newly introduced friend Shep.
"Good Morning Lieutenant" Bridger now said in his loudest and most official sounding voice as he could manage.
"Whaaa………. Whooooooooo, Oh Good Morning Captain" Ben said as he now turned to face his senior
commanding officer.
Bridger could see that fortunately Ben had at least managed to find something to hide his other appendages for the
time being. But now he was turned towards him, his bare buttocks were now exposed to the corridor. "You might
want to step in here a little more Mr Krieg" he now suggested.
"Oh right Captain" Ben said as his face turned a brilliant crimson red. He manoeuvred his body so that his rear was
now shielded by the wall of the bathroom. He still held the rubbish bin lid in front of him. "Captain I can explain
everything" he began as he tried desperately to come up with a logical explanation.
"Oh, you mean you have a perfectly good reason for running around my boat half naked" Bridger now said in amusement.
He could see the Lieutenant's obvious embarrassment.
"But you see it wasn't my…………." Ben began before Bridger held up his hand, signalling for him to stop there.
"I think I have a good idea who was responsible Ben. But, due to what is going to be happening aboard this boat
today, I ask that you use a little discretion and plan your revenge for a more appropriate time. Go to your quarters
and get some sleep. You are going to need it once we dock at the Munitions Depot. I am sure those other two will
be too busy with their own tasks this morning to worry about carrying out any further mischief.
"When I get my hands on them Captain………." Ben started to say in mock anger.
"Dismissed Lieutenant" Bridger said forcefully.
Ben quickly took a look into the corridor he had been spying on a few minutes ago and when the coast seemed clear,
he scurried away to his room, still hoping as hell he didn't run into anybody before he got there. He almost died of
embarrassment when the Captain had found him naked in the bathroom. How was he going to ever live that one down.
Though he was a little thankful that it was the Captain. He could think of a few more people who could have chosen
to walk in as the Captain did and he would definitely not have gotten away so easily.
When he eventually closed his room door, all he wanted to do was sink into his nice soft bed, well as soft as the military
allowed anyway and get that couple of hours sleep before they docked at the Depot. He knew things would turn a lot
more serious once they reached there.
Once he dressed himself in a singlet and boxer shorts, he gazed at the clock, it now said 7.00a.m. He laid down on
the bed and closed his eyes, soon drifting off into a sound sleep.
Back up on the Bridge, the Captain had just made his appearance after finding Ben Krieg in the Officer's bathroom.
He apologized to Commander Ford about being delayed and immediately asked about how the necessary preparations
were going for their arrival at the Depot.
Commander Ford informed him that most of the crew were successfully carrying out their allotted tasks and he hoped
to be finished well ahead of schedule.
Bridger nodded his head in acknowledgement and then spotted Lucas and Shep huddled together near a couple of
boxes, Lucas holding a clipboard in hand, apparently checking the various inventory and equipment that he and Shep
would need to take with them.
With the Admiral's consent, they had been able to order just about anything they wanted for the operation. Half of it Commander Ford didn't even know what it was, but Lucas and Shep's eyes had all but lit up when some of it had
arrived the day before and they unwrapped the various cases. The two words that kept coming up were "That's way
cool" and "I can't believe this".
Bridger thought he would take this opportunity to ask the two teenager themselves about how their own preparations
were going and to dig at them about the prank they had just pulled on a certain red-faced Lieutenant.
"How's it going Lucas?" Bridger asked, trying to still sound authoritive without other crew members nearby.
"Oh great Captain. You won't believe some of the stuff we got permission to get. Some of it is absolutely awesome.
We should be able to transfer the information from the databanks in half the time." Lucas said as the excitement in
his body language was too hard to ignore. Shep seemed as equally as excited.
"Well just remember to keep your activities focused on this operation please Mr Wolenczak" Bridger now said.
"Keep your mischief until the job is finished and we are back aboard the boat" he added.
Lucas and Shep now both looked at each other for a minute and then at the Captain. There gag wasn't even
scheduled to take place for another half an hour yet. Was their cover blown already? How did the Captain know
about it?
"We don't know what you mean Captain?" Lucas now said, trying to cover their own tracks and keep up appearances
that they had been working studiously away as requested. He was still trying to work out how the Captain had found
out about their little gag.
"Sure you don't" Bridger replied and casually walked away to go and check on the progress of other crew members.
He had a grin on his face as he said the words.
Katie Hitchcock had been close enough to overhear the Captain's comments to the two teenagers. She grinned
to herself about the prank she had pulled on her ex-husband. Obviously the Captain knew about it but wasn't
angry about it so she was happy with her efforts. She would stop by and check on Ben herself later to see how
red he still was.
Once the Captain had walked passed, Katie gave Lucas and Shep a grin that said a thousand words. Both teenagers
knew that Katie had done something. To whom or what they still didn't know. Lucas was totally shocked. Katie
Hitchcock was one of the most professional women he knew. She really took her job and career seriously. To think
that she had taken up their challenge about who was the best prankster and actually carried it out, blew his mind
away.
"Who and What did you do?" Lucas asked as he walked over to her and whispered the question so others wouldn't hear.
"I tell all later" she said and laughed as she turned away and returned to her duties.
All of these goings-on between the Captain, Lucas and Shep and Katie had all been witnessed by Commander
Jonathan Ford. He didn't know what was going on, but he saw the surprised looks on Lucas's face that were out
of character, and the smirks from the Captain and then the giggling from Katie Hitchcock. He frowned a little
and promised to keep a closer eye on them all.
**************************************************************************************
Lucas and Shep kept at their duties but after about twenty minutes continued to look at their watches and wait for
the fun they had prepared to begin.
Everybody was about to go to breakfast in the mess hall. It was now 7.30a.m.
Back at Ben Krieg's quarters, the alarm clock that had been tampered with was now reading 12.00 noon. The
alarm now sounded, startling Ben out of a sound slumber. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and tired to blindly hit the
clock on the table, he missed. The noise was beginning to bug him. He felt like he had only been asleep for an
hour or so. He couldn't believe his eyes when he looked at the digital numbers and they read lunchtime. He knew
he couldn't push the snooze button and go back to sleep. With all of the activity aboard the ship today, Ford
would chew him out severely if he was late for his shift. He really did feel as though he hadn't slept at all.
After a few more seconds of debating what to do, he threw back the covers on his bed and groaned loudly as he
made himself get up. He went to the small closet in his room and grabbed out the last of his uniforms. He continued
to grumble and moan about how tired he felt as he slipped the legs of the trousers over his feet and began pulling
them up to his waist.
Due to Lucas's and Shep's little sewing exercise, Ben stopped his grumbling momentarily as he started to frown about
how hard a time he was getting his trousers around his waist. He knew he didn't exactly watch his weight too often,
but he didn't think he had gained that much weight lately. With some more groaning and much in-taking of his
stomach muscles, he finally managed to get the zipper done up. The button proved a little more difficult and he was
sure that it was going to pop as soon as he sat down somewhere.
By the time he finished putting on his shirt and looking at his overall appearance in the mirror, he was really starting
to feel uncomfortable. "Ben my boy, you are going on a diet, starting tomorrow" he informed himself.
He looked back at the clock on his bedside table and saw that due to the time he had taken to squeeze into his uniform,
he was already a few minutes late for his shift. When he left his room, he headed straight towards the mess hall,
determined to get a cup of coffee to keep him awake before he even considered walking onto the Bridge. He knew
it would make him later still, but the way he felt right now, he didn't know that he would make it through his shift anyway.
He jogged the final part to the mess hall as the guilt of being late began gnawing at his sub-conscious again. He almost
ran into Commander Ford when he entered the room in his haste.
"Krieg will you watch what you are doing" Ford barked loudly, upset that his tray of breakfast was now sodden with
his own black coffee. "What are you doing here anyway?" he asked, remembering that the Lieutenant had only finished
his night shift only a hour or so ago. He thought that Ben would have been tucked up in bed sound asleep by now.
"Sorry Commander, can't talk, late already. I just want to grab a cup of coffee and I will be on the Bridge in a few
minutes" Ben answered and hurry off again towards the coffee machine before giving Ford a chance to question about
why he was going back on the Bridge.
Commander Ford shrugged his shoulders and told him that what ever hair-brained scheme Krieg was up to, as long as
it didn't involve him he didn't want to know. He headed to table behind where Commander Katie Hitchcock was
sitting. Lucas, Shep and the Captain were sitting at the table beside them.
Lucas and Shep had both seen Ben come scooting into the room and saw the anxious look on his face. The pair of
them immediately tried to hide their smirks behind their own coffee cups. Captain Bridger noticed their faces and
wondered what the two of them were up to now. Like Commander Ford, he wondered why Ben Krieg was in the
mess hall when he had told him to go to bed and get some sleep.
Ben Krieg had now gotten his cup of coffee from the machine and was headed towards the table where the two
mischief causers were sitting. All the time he was pulling at his uniform, trying to alleviate the tightness in places
he would rather their wasn't. At this rate he would have to order in a uniform at a bigger size. He definitely
needed to go on a diet.
Ben placed his cup on the table and gave a half-hearted greeting to the Captain as he prepared to sit down. He
looked over towards Lucas and Shep and noticed the two of them trying to hide behind their cups, amusement
written all over their faces. He thought their mirth was due to his earlier predicament.
"Oh you guys are real comedians, you know that" Ben said wryly as he went to sit down on his chair.
Lucas was about to say something in their defence when the atmosphere was interrupted by the sound of tearing
fabric as Ben sat down. Ben's face turned that brilliant shade of red again as he quickly jumped up and discovered
that the entire back seam of his trousers had come apart due to the strain. They were torn from waist line to
crotch. It was about now that he realised that he had been had a second time this morning.
Lucas and Shep could no longer hide their laughter and the two of them were literally rolling around on their chairs
laughing so hard that they were almost crying. They would get themselves under control only to look at Ben's
distressed look and fall into fits of laughter again.
Ben thought he would at least get some support from the Captain about the pranks of Lucas and his friend. Instead,
he was dismayed to look at Bridger and saw him laughing heartily as well. Katie Hitchcock at the table behind
them was also in great fits of laughter at her ex-husband's problem.
"Lieutenant, I thought you were supposed to be getting some sleep before we dock at the Depot?" Bridger now
asked, trying to regain some control over the situation.
"My alarm clock went off ……………………." he stopped in mid-sentence as he spotted the secret looks between
Lucas and his friend.
"Your alarm clock went off?" Lucas now asked as he tried to keep his composure again. "What time did it say Ben?"
"It's lunch-time isn't it?" Ben now asked innocently. He really didn't know what time it was.
"The time is 7.45a.m. Ben" Captain Bridger said, holding out his wristwatch for the Lieutenant to see he was telling
the truth.
Now even Commander Ford was chuckling as he realised that Lucas and his friend had somehow done something
to Krieg's alarm clock. He now knew the reason for him to be up so soon again.
"Let me just say that revenge will be swift and unmerciful" Ben said in a voice that was devoid of emotion. Although
he would never pull anything to hurt the boys, especially Lucas. He did intend for his return gag to have the two of
them more embarrassed than they had ever been in their entire lives. With this statement he gathered all of his pride
together and then as proud as a peacock, strutted towards the doorway with his split seam in full view.
The entire mess hall was in fits of laughter as he made his exit but he didn't care, all Ben could think of while he walked
out was what he was going to do to two certain teenagers in revenge. Whatever it was it had to be spectacular
and leave no doubt in anyone's mind that he was the King of Pranks.
*****************************************************************************************