Oblivion Flight: A Military Science Fiction Space Opera Epic (The Oblivion Saga Book 2) by J.R. Mabry & B.J. West

Author:J.R. Mabry & B.J. West [Mabry, J.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Xenophile Press
Published: 2020-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

He was staring at the stars when he felt a presence behind him. He knew it was her before he looked, although he didn’t know how. Was it her scent, or the way her foot fell on the poly flooring? It was hard to say. “Hey,” he said without turning.

She slipped her arm around his waist and joined him at the window. “I expected to find you in a bottle,” she said. “This is better.”

“Yeah, strangely…” He shook his head, not finishing the thought.

“I was on my way to your cabin. I was hoping we could catch dinner.”

Jeff nodded. “Yeah. That sounds fine.” He backed up from the window and caught her eye. He smiled. She took his arm, and they began to stroll toward the mess.

“I just came from Wall,” Emma said. “She’s…a little freaked out.”

“That seems appropriate.”

“She’s freaked out because she ran into herself.”

“That would freak me out too,” Jeff admitted.

“Then…they had sex,” Emma said, watching Jeff for his reaction.

“That’s…just weird,” he said, eyes wide. “I didn’t know…I mean, I’m not surprised…but still…with herself?”

“Yep. It’s a little narcissistic—”

“By definition.”

“Now she’s holed up in her cabin with the covers over her head.”

“Huh.”

“Plus, she’s got survivor’s guilt.”

“Who doesn’t?” Jeff almost spat.

“Oh…well, that’s not what I mean. She’s feeling guilty that Pho and Nira are in the brig and she isn’t.”

“She’s feeling so guilty she’s on a sex binge, you mean.”

“People react to stress in odd ways,” Emma said.

“Isn’t that technically masturbation, though?”

“Does that make it better if it is?”

“No. It’s still weird.”

A moment later they were standing outside the mess. “After you,” Jeff said.

After loading up their trays, Jeff followed her to a seat near the rear of the galley, as far away from anyone else as she could manage.

“Are you sure we don’t want to find a storage closet or something?” Jeff said. “Cause we could probably do that.”

Emma sat. “I don’t want to be overheard,” she explained.

“Fair enough.” Jeff’s nostrils twitched as the aroma of his dinner filled them. “This looks surprisingly good.”

“The food aboard Sol Station was always good.”

“Our Sol Station. I think this Sol Station slips a bit.”

“Just eat.”

“Yes, sir.” Jeff said, picking up his cutlery. “I had breakfast with Danny this morning.”

“Any help?”

“He said he’d talk to Tal. You never know. I have no idea how much pull he has. But…”

“But?”

Jeff put down his fork before he’d tasted anything. “I watched him humiliate an ensign for absolutely no reason at all. He did it in front of the entire mess. It was cruel and abusive, and…completely unlike him.” He stared at his plate, aware that it was cooling. “I don’t know what to think about it.”

Emma pursed her lips. “You want to know what I think?”

“Sure.”

“I think this is not your Danny, in two senses.”

“Okay…”

“First, the obvious—this is a different world, and this Danny is just a different guy. Maybe he has a cruel streak that the Danny of String 310 didn’t have.”

Jeff nodded. “And the non-obvious?”

“Let’s say that, twenty years ago, this Danny and your Danny were exactly the same—not just physically, but psychologically.

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