#8 - Taylor Jest Looks for Fun Aboard the Medallion

EVENT: DAY 16, 0910 to Day 18, 0005 GMT

“All Hands Stand Down, Stations Yellow.”

The smooth androgynous voice came over the ship comms and area speakers in soothing timbres.

Taylor was already unfastening her web at the third word, and she jammed her feet into her mag-grav boots in an instant. In the next, she was joyful to find that her door was once again responding to her exit request. A stream of preoccupied folks moved past her door. She leaned out, hands gripped to the jamb, as she tried to get the attention of one of the ship’s personnel to ask what had happened.

The one ensign who allowed himself to slow, having gotten a full dose of her hypnotic eyes, stammered, “I…I don’t know… what to tell you, Ms. Jest. I’m sorry; I have to go…” he broke away from her captivating gaze with difficulty.

She watched him hasten off on his errand, satisfied he’d known her name, but unsatisfied in her desire for information.

People hurried by in both directions, most not looking her way at all. She popped back into her cabin to see what she could discover from the terminal avatar. “Where is Chris Friday?”

“Ensign Friday is on post in the monitoring section.” Unspecific.

“Where is Jennifer…” Taylor searched her memory for the girl’s nametag emblem, “Scott?”

“Private Scott is on stand-by, boarding team Alpha.” Again, no specified location. But it didn’t matter; she had a good idea where that might be. Taylor already knew Jen was on-duty but hoped maybe she had been released. No luck. She then named several more ensigns she had gone to bed with since boarding. One man was supposedly in his cabin. She realized she had no desire to seek him out.

Instead, she decided to wander up to the mess and see if there was a return to normal. Maybe she could overhear something informative. This confined-to-quarters business had left a bad taste and a whole-body anxiousness. It compounded just how useful she’d been on this mission—a big zero.

A ton of fun without a doubt, between sex with the men and teasing with Jennifer. Not to mention the amazing revelations with Chris. But this was a serious military mission. Why had they let a civilian on board? She couldn’t figure that one out. She had not been able to get near the captain to ask him directly.

The mess was beginning to fill with crewmembers made hungry by the tension and subsequent reprieve. She scanned a troop of soldiers still suited for an aborted EVA, each carrying their helmets under their arms. There was Jen. Taylor waved, attracting the attention of many besides Jennifer.

She made a beeline for Taylor and did a little dance with a wink and shake of her head. The attention that lingered on Taylor instantly transferred to the cute crewwoman, doing what appeared to be a sexy victory dance. Some of the men whooped at her in a good-natured way.

As they came together, Taylor responded with some more subtle movements, ending with the two bumping their fists. Taylor received an abbreviated but complete rundown in those movements and scripted facial expressions, about what had happened for Jen as she waited during the Red Alert—essentially nothing.

Jen picked up the conversation verbally after that, sharing non-secret details of what was next. “I’m off for the moment. New orders came in. Our team leaders are going over first off, with medical and salvage teams.”

The essentials broke down to a basic salvage operation. They were here to do some work on the two ships that floated off their stern. Taylor shared her disappointment; she had secretly hoped to confront some kind of danger out here in these far reaches.