Vlondril paused as she heard a familiar voice “Aunt Vlondril?” Galinae stopped and turned after she had passed the older Iridian.

“Yes, niece?” Vlondril smiled at Gali in a thinly-veiled, polite ruse; Barely masking her annoyance at being stopped.

“You’re up to something.” Gali deadpanned with a suspicious-looking squint. Vlondril smiled wider at her, reading the expression on the younger Iridian’s face, to which Galinae pouted and continued “How did you turn those gangsters to our side?”

"Womanly wiles, dear girl. You will understand when you are older." Vlondril walked away with a cackle, refusing to elaborate further. Instead, she cackled and cooed "I am ALWAYS up to something~!"

Galinae stares after her a beat before she turns and doubles back to the Armory. Nine-to-one odds say Kara is there, probably cleaning her guns.

***

I walked down the corridor to the elevator, urgently wishing to return to my room to sleep, or not sleep. Vlondril's.. Intimacy was confusing. Was she coming onto me? I had no way of knowing, Iridians were strange in their views on romance and everything to do with it. I stopped in front of the elevator doors. The doors parted, and a shorter figure stepped out of the elevator and into my chest. followed by a muffled voice "Umph!". I looked down, blinking a few times as a head of teal hair greeted me, with someone's head wedged into my chest. After a moment of trying to pry herself free, Galinae stares up at me with a tint of red on her cheeks. "I've been looking for you!"

After processing what had just happened, I swallowed and regained my composure. "Uh.. Alright? What did you want to see me for?"

"It's Vlondril! she's up to no good!" Galinae huffed. "I think she slept with all five lieutenants she brought to our side! you know, the sideways mamba! The forbidden tango, the-" I stare at her for a long moment with a deadpanned expression, which forces Gali to pause. "what?"

"Never mind that where is Jay?" I smiled at her.

"Oh, the old man? He's probably on the bridge talking to Wesley," she then grumbled. "The two seem to click rather well. Too well, even." Galinae shook her head at the situation. I was unsure if she was still referring to the helmsman and our new crew member, or my... Assets. My blush deepened slightly.

"Are you alright, Kara?" Galinae felt my forehead. "oh my, you're burning up! you should go see Doctor Crenshaw in the medbay!" She took my hand. "Come on! let's head that direction!"

"Gali, I- H-hey!" I attempted to protest as the shorter Iridian dragged me to the medbay. I desperately attempted to dig my heels in to resist Galinae's insistence but to no avail.

***

Bailey Crenshaw leaned back in her seat, rubbing her face. She had been up all night going through medical logs and reports. She groaned in frustration. having been dealing with Irate mercenaries all day with no captain in sight. It was starting to annoy her. Then, she heard the door to the medbay swish open, with a loud protest from whatever patient she likely had now. "Galinae, Stahpit! let me go, I am ordering you to let me go!"

Bailey turned and canted her head to one side. Captain Nakamura was right there with her Nurse, Galinae. "Galinae, what's going on?"

"Doctor, the captain has a fever!" Galinae brought Kara over to the medical bed. The older captain protested "I feel fine!"

"Miss Galinae thinks you are not fine, lie down and I will conduct a short exam, if you are alright you may leave." Bailey smiled at Kara dangerously. "Or do I have to sedate you?"

Kara paused, about to say something in reply, but she quickly shut her mouth with an audible click and sighed in resignation. "Fine. Make this very quick, then."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Bailey smiled endearingly and put on her medical exam gloves. "I'll try my best, captain." After a moment, the doctor loomed over Kara for a moment before she found an infrared thermometer. After passing it over Kara's forehead, she blinked at the screen on the device. "thirty-eight point one Celsius. Any congestion? nausea? trouble swallowing?"

"No doctor! I am fine." Kara pouted. "This is a waste of time." Kara was still red in the face, which Bailey noted mentally as she took the increasing incensed woman's blood pressure. "oh my, elevated blood pressure! Did you do any strenuous activities?"

"I was cleaning my weapons and stocking ammunition crates." Kara deadpanned at the doctor.

"Fine, one more question!" Bailey smiled again. "Do you feel anything else? cramps, pains, aches?"

Kara paused, her lip quivering slightly before she answered. "well.." she glanced at Galinae. Bailey nodded at the Iridian, and she exited the room. Kara cleared her throat. "Vlondril... kissed me. Suddenly." she shifted her posture.

Bailey took a moment to process that. "oh! That's why you're red in the face." she burst out in peals of laughter. "I see, so did she confess to you?"

***

I stared at the doctor silently, trying to process what she had said. Vlondril did not seem like the type that would be intimate with someone, or even feel any kind of attraction to another person. "I- Uh..." I stumbled with my speech, trying to formulate a way to answer. "I don't know." I smiled sheepishly.

Bailey smiled in understanding. "with this big operation coming up, it is natural for people to want.. intimacy. It is a way to blow off steam. Just be cautious, and use protection okay?" she sighed. "Galinae has much to learn about bodily reactions to these sorts of things." She sat down in her office chair at her desk. "One other thing, Kara. I read your medical file. It says you were discharged from the Commonwealth Defense Forces after eighty years, that is a long time. I've seen that when one spends quite a lot of time in such a profession, it will start to affect the mind. If you have anything at all that you wish to talk about in private, my door is always open." Bailey looked at me with a welcoming smile. "Do not try to bottle it all in, hun. Eventually, it will destroy you." she sighed. " Too often have I seen veterans of the fed-com war attempt that, it never ended well."

"I do not need a shrink, doctor." I deadpanned at the petite woman. "I have gotten this far already, why would I need a shrink now?"

Doctor Crenshaw rested her face in a palm with an exasperated sigh. "I can not force you to seek me out for that, but I am qualified to offer counseling services to you if you feel that you need them." the doctor sat up. "well, at least you are not sick, so there is that. But I highly suggest you consider sitting down and discussing this with Vlondril. If you need time, it'd be best to let her know before a misunderstanding occurs, okay?" She smiled at me. "that's all. good night, captain."

I shook my head as I exited the medbay. I turned down the corridor to the elevator. Now headed up to my cabin once again as I had planned to do twenty minutes ago. I blow out a breath, exhaling my annoyance at this divergence.

***

Upon entering my quarters, I start shedding clothing as I head to the lavatory to wash off all the grime from my time in the armory. After removing the tank top to expose my bared chest, I head for the shower stall, shedding my undergarment as I enter the restroom.

I stand underneath the water, savoring the sensation of water running over my bare skin, soothing all the aches and pains. My mind drifts to the task at hand.

My plans went beyond just one mob. I want to integrate all of them into one network. Like a web that spanned the entire galaxy. If there was one way to find this shady organization that hired me, then betrayed me, it was keeping our fingers on the pulse of the criminal underbelly of the galaxy.

My mind instinctively goes over the crew roster, assessing their strengths and weaknesses.

Galinae is Naive. Impulsive. Impatient. Her skillset or lack thereof dictated she does not belong with us. I had half a mind to dump her off somewhere as we departed the Eridan system. However she does have her usefulness as a nurse and assistant to doctor Bailey.

Vlondril is Fickle. Eccentric. Cryptic, even. Her contacts ran deep. She knows her way around the criminal world. She has resources that may help us back on Eridan. She is also a master infiltrator as she had proven to me earlier with our raid on the manor.

The twins Midea and Reina were quiet, perceptive. There was not much to say about them. Absolutely not fighters, but indispensable specialists. They were best off on the bridge crew.

Jay. The Wildcard.. I do not have enough time interacting with the man to get a good grasp of his personality, but he is likely a smuggler. I looked him up during our time ashore, and he is a well regarded navigation specialist. It will likely be worth having him around.

B’nan. His previous experience as a Gravidan intelligence asset will help us when we end up passing through Gravidan space. Also a good fighter, maybe a bit too good. Worth keeping closer than the others.

I shut off the water and exit the shower, wrapping in a towel after drying off. After making sure my door is locked, since I do not want a repeat of the incident earlier with B’Nan, I get dressed in my negligee. Letting my hair dry out naturally after I wring it out into the basin in the bathroom.

After that, I crawl into bed as my thoughts drift while I lull off to sleep.