New chapter coming out a few hours early! Next one will come out either Friday night or Saturday afternoon.
I promise that there's more to this chapter than meets the eye...but Chanun gets to know one of his superiors a little bit better here.
Thanks for the kudos and comments. I'm going to try to post more on my Tumblr so you can feel free to ask me questions/leave me feedback there as well.
Cain and Abel are coming...don't you worry. Sometimes, the foreplay makes the climax all worth it in the end.
- SleipyNova
"Man, what a fucking first night," I yelled to no one in particular as I exited the gym and toward my room.
"I'll say," came from behind me. I turned around; it was the blonde guy from earlier, with the long hair-braid. He was smiling, his teeth pristine. He carried himself with a grace that made me want to stand up a little taller.
"You're Lead Navigator Keeler, right?" I said. He smiled and nodded.
"And you are?"
"New," I sputtered. Shit. Keeler let a small guffaw pass his lips.
"I knew that. I saw you at the ceremony earlier. I meant, what should I call you?"
"Chanun," I answered, secretly thankful I wouldn't embarrass myself anymore in front of my superior officer. I extended my hand and he shook, his fingers interlocking with mine.
"I love that name," Keeler said with a smile.
"Heh, thanks," I responded. "I didn't choose it, of course, but I'll make people remember it."
"You should look up its etymology when you get back to your room. But anyway, I digress."
My mind was in a bit of a haze, but I soon snapped out of it. "So how can I help you?"
"You looked pretty good tonight," he said. "In the sparring match. The way you dodged and anticipated the other Fighter's moves, it was extremely impressive."
"Heh, thanks," I said. Damn, this was more than I expected - getting complimented by a Lead on the first day! "I scored well in that particular discipline at the Academy. Must have picked up some tricks from growing up on the Islands."
"Oh, so you're an Islander, then?" Keeler inquired. I nodded my head.
"Great. I have a feeling that you're going to be extremely helpful for what might be coming down the pipeline next for us. Do you mind taking a walk with me? I want to give you something." I gulped a bit, and then regained my composure.
"Uh, sure, dude. I mean, sir. I mean…" He laughed again as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and we began to stride toward the Navigator section of the ship.
"You can call me Keeler, Chanun. Don't worry." I blushed a bit and looked away, hoping that he wouldn't see it. Shit, guys didn't normally get me feeling like this. There was just something so regal yet relaxed about Keeler. The juxtaposition caught me off guard.
"OK then. Keeler it is." We walked past the gym, which had seemingly cleared out a bit.
"So, why did you choose to be a Fighter?" Keeler asked me. I shrugged.
"I scored slightly better in it, and I think it's where my value lies, to be honest. I know my strengths. I'm calm under pressure, I'm coordinated, and I'm tough. I'm not a brilliant strategist like my Navigator, Zek...Ezekiel is." I remembered a second too late that Zeke was not ACTUALLY his code name, but since I was in the presence of his boss I could talk him up a bit.
"And I can't wait to meet him...now EZEKIEL I've heard things about, I must admit," Keeler said as he took his arm off my shoulders, giving me a bit more freedom of movement. "Given the new rules, we don't grant a lot of Spec Exceptions anymore. And on the Sleipnir, doubly so, since we tend to take on a lot of the more...unpredictable, exploration-oriented missions, where impaired vision could lead to dire consequences."
"I've only known him for a couple of hours, but I think he'll be good. I might need to take him to the gym a few times to get his lifting game on point, but we'll each do our part to make the other one ready if we need to battle. That's what a Fighter and Nav are supposed to do, right? Bring the best out of each other?" Keeler smiled and looked me in the eyes as we turned down a hallway that had a "Bridge" sign above it.
"Yup. Take it from me, the worst thing you could do to your partner is to force some chemistry that isn't there. Find out how you relate to one another, and then make that work." We came to the end of the hall. "By the way, welcome to the Bridge."
My mouth was agape as I looked below me, technology and computers and technicians as far as the eye could see. It was a massive space, so active, filled with beeping and whirring and blinking. Keeler let me take it in for a moment, then grabbed my hand and directed me toward a larger station in the corner.
"So, Islander, you know how to swim?" He asked.
"Of course, man." I couldn't help but smirk a bit. "We learn how to swim when we're, like, three on the Islands. I even guarded for four years."
"I could tell," Keeler demurred as he looked me up and down, before grabbing a notebook from the station's countertop. "So, we have intelligence that there might be Colteron activity on an underwater planet in the Baiten Kaitos system. They may be looking to manufacture a weapon that could be used to destroy humanity; we're not sure what it is yet, to be quite honest, but we're going to figure it out. And, once we get a new shipment of submersibles from the home base, which should be in about…" Keeler looked at a calendar, "a month from now, we'll be able to go onto the planet and do some recon. However, there are some issues."
"Let me guess," I said with a knowing grin. "Some of the guys here can't swim."
Keeler nodded, "Yup. I mean, I'll be honest. Have you ever seen Colonists try and swim? They look like dogs just barely being able to keep afloat." He stared into space for a second and then chuckled heartily. "Sorry, I just thought of ONE particular Colonist and what his attempt would be like. Man, I'd pay to see that."
Keeler brushed some of the hair out of his eyes and regained his composure. "But I digress. Yes, swimming lessons might be needed, and that certainly doesn't hurt you. However, my more pressing need is that, underwater, there might be a case when the submersibles are parked and teams are going to have to explore on foot. And then, my Navigators are going to have to get out of their ships. And I want to make sure they know how to defend themselves."
Keeler took a book off of his desk and underhand tossed it to me. I caught it and looked at it. It was a pretty small volume that was titled A Guide to Leading...By Example.
"You showed me some pretty smooth moves tonight," Keeler said with a grin. "I want you to show them to all of my Navigators. Get them ready so that if they have to defend themselves, to dodge attacks in close quarters, they can." I stared at him, dumbstruck.
"But this is my first…"
"I know, Chanun. You're new. This wouldn't happen right away. Not for a few weeks, not until you were slightly more established. But what do you say? Would you do it?"
I mean...was it even a question?
"Yeah, man. Of course...of course I'll do it." Keeler nodded.
"Awesome. You should read that book, it'll do you wonders. It did for me once I rose in the ranks." I nodded, appreciating his help. This was surreal. Less than a day in and I was already in good with one of the Leads.
"I definitely will," I said, tossing the book to myself in the air and catching it in one hand. Keeler grinned.
"You have really good reflexes," he surmised. He reached out an arm to mock punch me, I caught it and pulled him closer, like we were in some sort of strange tango. My arm subconsciously dipped him lower, rubbing his back. Our noses touched.
Fuck. Not in public, not on day one. Not going to be a hypocrite after turning down the guy who threw himself at me in the Mess Hall. Not going to happen.
I pulled him back up and looked around - no one on the Bridge had noticed. I looked at Keeler, who seemed composed, although he did have some faint redness creeping onto his cheeks, the heat of the moment carrying over a little bit.
"Anyway...I should probably be going," I said, a little disappointed but dignity remaining intact. For now, anyway. Keeler gulped and nodded, agreeing.
"At least let me walk you back to your room." He stood up, grabbing my hand, and we left the Bridge. We didn't exchange another word on our stroll back, but in my head I was celebrating.
Today had been splendid, and the foundation had been laid for many good things to come.