---Esme’s perspective---
---Monday, 27th of November, 2682 Terran Calendar---
---Southern England---
*Thwack**Thwack**THWACK*
“You’re dead, Reid.” observes Sands as, all around us, every member of the Regiment spars with weighted training swords “Pvt Taylor just knocked your sword into your own chest in a way that would have cut you in half if it were a real plasmaweapon. What have you learnt from that, Private?”
“I need to fight better, Ma’am!” I say, really struggling to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.
“Yeeees… but more specific’ly?”
“I need to… not let my sword be knocked into me… Ma’am?”
“Taylor, what should she have learnt?” says Sands to the perfect, soldierly ideal I’m sparring with.
“To keep power in her guard, Ma’am.” he answers, instantly.
“Good!” she turns back to me “Your sword won’t defend you if you just hold it there limply, Private! Keep. power. in. your. guard!”
“Yes, Ma’am.” I answer.
She nods and returns her attention to little Mr Perfect “You’ve got good form, Private. HEMA?”
He shakes his head “Norse Martial Arts, Ma’am.”
“Oh, you’re a Pantheonist are you, Private?”
Another headshake “I’m an Agnostic, Ma’am.”
“I see… Carry on, Privates!” she says before moving on to the next pair.
“Are you ready to go again, Reid?” asks the big man, stonily.
“Oh, I’m fucking rearing(!)” I answer, sarcastically.
---later---
I’m covered in bruises from little Mr Perfect and his Norse ‘Arts’ as I carry the heavy box of training swords back to storage.
“Let me help you with that.” comes a smarmy voice as the box is lifted from my arms.
I wheel to see Pvt Forest walking to my left.
“Give that back, Forest.” I say, not in the mood for this shit.
“I just want to heeelp, Reid…” he simpers.
“You won’t be helping when Sands sees you doing my work and we both get a bollocking about it, Forest… I’m already fighting a reputation as a slacker, I don’t need those flames fanned… Give it back.”
The smarmy boy hands the heavy box back to me, holding up his hands in a gesture of ‘whatever you say’, after I take it.
Without another word I turn to keep walking.
He follows at my side.
“Sooo… word on the grapevine is, you like muscly guys… and Neanderthals…”
Internally, I curse whichever gossip it was who leaked that to whoever Forest heard it from, externally I just flatly say “Is it now?”
“Yeeeah… so…” his hand shoots out against the door we just arrived at, blocking me from being able to put the training swords away as he cazh-leans against the storehouse “…I was thinking, why don’t you and I book a conjugal room together sometime, Reid?”
Well… gotta admire his balls if nothing else!
“Hard pass, Forest.” I state, firmly.
The friendliness is instantly gone from his face and voice as he ungraciously says “Why not?! I’m the most muscular man in the Regiment! Is it because I’m only half Neanderthal!?”
“I am not discussing my sexual preferences with you, Forest, except to tell you that you lie outside of them.”
He scowls, leans in and starts “Yeah… well, what if…?” but he doesn’t get to finish that thought.
“Reid, please flirt on your own time. We have work to do and the two of you are blocking the way.” comes a bored voice from behind me.
Forest wheels and has to correct his gaze which falls on Taylor’s chest at first.
He clearly wasn’t expecting to be confronted with someone so tall.
The half Neanderthal looks back to me and I give him a little shrug.
He scowls as he takes his arm off the door, allowing it to be opened.
I am a tiny bit grateful to Taylor for rescuing me from that situation, even if only by accident, in the course of his being a pompous ass!
---Saturday, 3rd of December, 2682 Terran Calendar---
My bed rocks as sweet nothings are mumbled a metre below me.
It is two in the fucking morning and I need to be up in four and a half hours, we all do!
If it was just the mumbling, I could probably zone it out but the way there’s just enough space between the bed jostles to keep me from drifting off is maddening!
“*gasp* You can’t do thaaat!” Charlotte whispergiggles finally causing me to lose my patience.
“Guys!!!” I hiss, under my breath, sticking my head over the side of my bed to see four startled brown eyes, two modest, bare, pale tits and two very ample, bare, dark tits visible in the low light “I could not be more thrilled that you two lovebirds have fucking found eachother in this crazy world but you are keeping me awake! For the love of all that’s holy! Go and use a conjugal room if you’re so keen to be dead on your feet tomorrow!”
“Sorry for keeping you up, Esme…!” whispers Charlotte “…but… we haven’t booked one and Sands will be asleep… she won’t be able to approve it!”
“I’ll go with you… if we get caught, blame it on me!” I offer, willing to do just about anything to be able to sleep.
“But…”
“It’s that or Kimberley goes back to her bed and all canoodling stops for tonight!”
The two share a look before turning to me and nodding.
They get up and begin pulling their pyjama tops on.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
I hop down silently, so as not to wake Saba or Christina, both asleep on bunkbeds with no other occupant.
I wait by the door as they make themselves decent.
The two of them round the corner and I turn to, very quietly, crack the door.
I don’t see anyone on watch.
I gesture for them to follow.
We slink silently through the hallway to the stairwell.
We pass by the 14th and 13th floors to make it down to floor 12 where the nearest bank of conjugal rooms are.
I look along them and see that, while most of them are lit with the red ‘occupied’ light, three have a green vacancy light over their doors.
I go to the nearest one and very lightly knock.
No answer.
I crack the door to reveal the inside… little more than a cupboard with a bed at the bottom. I pull the door open and wave the girls in.
“Thanks, Esme!” says Charlotte, as the door closes.
The light turns red as she locks it.
I breathe a sigh of relief as I turn to go.
No sooner have I started walking when I see the torch beams rounding the corner from the stairwell.
Without a moment to hide I’m caught fairly red handed as two Privates on watch appear.
“Reid… what’re you doing out of bed…?” comes a male voice with a Scottish accent.
Tentatively relieved I say “Oh, Cousland, Taggart… it’s you two!” speaking in my natural Lallans register.
“What’re you doing out of bed, Reid?” asks Cousland, more sternly.
“I… err… y’see… my bunkmate and her girlfriend were keeping me up… I told them to use a conjugal room… they’re in room 17… is that… alright?”
“Why did you need to come?” asks Taggart, analytically.
“Oh… erm… I was…”
“You were here to take the fall for them if you got caught, weren’t you?” asks Cousland, flatly.
“Yeah… I was…” I admit “…are you gonna report me?”
Cousland narrows his eyes for a moment before saying “Back to bed, Reid… don’t let us catch you again!”
I grin “You two’re alright!” as I streak past him back to my room.
Sleep!… I could fucking marry my bed right now!
---Thursday, 14th of December, 2682 Terran Calendar---
I look up at Taylor, like me, dressed in uniform for our watch.
“Hey…” I frown “…I know we’re supposed to stay together but… how ’bout we split up for this watch?… We’ll get more ground covered that way, anyway.”
He looks down at me, consideringly.
I’m worried that the goody-two-shoes is gonna nix that and say that we have to stay together but he surprises me by, eventually, saying “Alright… let’s split up… check in if there’s a problem.” and turning around to walk away.
I guess the dislike is mutual enough that he’s willing to take that stick out of his arse to not be around me!
I’ve had to sit with that pompous twat for every meal for nearly three fucking weeks now! I’ve had to do every run, spar every match and perform every other miscellaneous duty with him!
I just have to walk about the halls and tell anyone I find to go to bed… not like I need backup for that…
I daydream as I wander down the half lit 9th floor.
The girls and I all took one of our leave days for a trip to London this week.
It was the first time I’d ever been.
It was fun… don’t know what I was expecting but… I guess my general distaste for England and Englishness made me think its largest city would be a boring slog to visit!
I suppose, going with friends made it nice… I definitely wouldn’t have had half the fun if I’d gone on my own!
We visited an art gallery, went to some boutique shops to look at clothes we could never afford and then we got a late lunch/early dinner at a café on top of a skypiercer, so tall that the air was noticeably thinner up there!
I smile to myself, reliving the fun excursion, as I make my way through the corridors of floors 10 and 11.
I come up onto floor 12 and look at the row of red and green lights over the doors to my right.
Out of curiosity, I check to see how many have actually been booked for tonight.
Looks like five rooms are in use by people pulling the same trick as I had Kim and Charlie use the other day.
Technically, I ought to bust in and order them back to their own beds but… well… not like they’re actually hurting anyone… I can turn a blind eye.
I try not to listen too hard to the muffled moans of pleasure coming from behind the doors… feels a bit voyeuristic.
I don’t envy the folk with rooms on the other side…
Maybe you get used to it?
Some of them probably like it!
I’ve just passed the last, vacant, conjugal room when I hear it open.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I’m about to turn my head to the person that must be right behind me… when I feel a thick fingered hand clamp down over my mouth with irresistible force!
The back of my head is pressed into a solid chest and a thick arm wraps around both of mine!
I scream and struggle as I’m dragged backward into the darkened room!
The door closes and is locked by whoever’s grabbed me.
I’m thrown to the bed and get a look at my assailant for the first time.
It’s Forest… obviously he would be the type to have trouble taking ‘no’ for an answer!
I don’t waste my breath on pleading with him and, instead scream “HEEEEELP! HEEEEELP ME!!! RUPERT FOREST IS TRYING TO RAPE ME!!!” as I attempt to fight my way past him, back into the corridor.
Effortlessly, he flings me backward and swoops down on top of me, crushing my throat with his right hand, cutting off my screams.
He backhands me, hard, across my right cheek with his left hand!
Leering down at me, he says “Don’t worry, bitch… I guarantee you’ll enjoy this… You like Neanderthals, don’t you? Just pretend we’re in a cave!… I’m a big strong Neanderthal who liked how you looked… so I took you… Now, I’m going to make you mine!”
He takes his hand from my throat to rip open my shirt.
I give a sobbing scream which he answers with another hard *CRACK* across my face.
“Shut up! I told you you’re going to enjoy this!” he says, angrily.
“Forest! Please! It’s not too late!!! Let me go and we can pretend this never happened!” I plead, desperately, willing to promise just about anything not to suffer what I’m about to suffer!
“Nooo, no, no, no, no, no!” he says, running a hand across my bare stomach with sickening sensuality “I’m going to make you moooan! By tomorrow morning, you won’t be able to leave me alone you’ll be so desperate for more!”
“HEEEEEEEELP!!!!!” I scream.
He raises his hand to strike me but, just then, there comes a great *BOOM* from the door.
---Simone’s perspective---
Blearily, I check my phone for the alert that just popped up.
1:30am and I’m getting woken up to go check on some bullshit!
“I’m in the wrong line of work…” I say to myself as I roll out of bed and slip on my boots.
I sleep fully clothed for exactly this kind of situation, so I’m able to just walk out the door to my room.
I make my way up the stairs to floor 12.
I look down the hallway and instantly know that this isn’t just the usual bullshit.
Taylor and Reid are by the ajar door to conjugal room 1.
Taylor has several heavy bruises visible on his face.
Reid’s clothing and hair are dishevelled and her face is paler than normal (barring a bright red strike mark on her left cheek) as she sits against the wall, trembling.
A few doors have heads peaking out of them but “This ain’t a fuckin’ peepshow, Privates! Back to your beds!”
The frightened recruits beat a hasty retreat back into their rooms.
I stride up to the pair and quickly assess that Reid is not in a fit state to report as a soldier, so I snarl at Taylor “What the fuck happened here, Private?!”
Professionally, the boy looks over my head and answers “Pvt Forest unsuccessfully attempted to perpetrate a rape against Pvt Reid and was subsequently subdued, Ma’am.”
I look at this batch of trainees’ star pupil, incredulously, and hiss “And how… exactly was Private forest able to cause Private Reid to be in this state before you saw fit to intervene, Taylor!?”
“The Private and I were separated when the assault began, Ma’am…”
“Separated!? Why were you SEPARATED, Private!?!?!?”
“…I… I suggested it… thought we could cover more ground that way, Ma’am…” he lies.
Before I’ve decided whether I’m going to call out the lie, Reid takes the choice out of my hands, trembling “Don’t… don’t cover for me… I suggested it…” quietly.
“Regardless of who suggested it, you two separated and, as a result one of you almost got fucking raped!” I spit, angrily, directing my ire at the relatively composed Taylor rather than the fragile looking Reid “That about the size of it, Private?!”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Do I need to tell you how stupid you were?! How fuckin’ reckless?!”
“No, Ma’am.”
“Good… Where is Pvt Forest now?”
He gestures to the kicked in door.
I peek behind it and see a very bloody and bruised man, lying unconscious on the bed.
“He alive, Taylor?”
“He was the last time I checked, Ma’am…” answers the boy, not particularly sounding like he could give any less of a shit “…I’ve alerted the MPs and the MOs… they should arrive shortly, Ma’am.”
“Good… stay here and guard him until the MPs arrive. After the MO’s done treating him, send them to the Mess to have a check on Reid, Taylor.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
I turn to Reid and, dropping the normal hardarsery, kindly say “Can you stand, girl…?”
She nods… but makes no move to stand up.
I extend my hands to her and say “Alright… let’s get you up… there’s a packet in the Mess just waitin’ to be turned into a hot mug of cocoa with your name on it… OK, Reid?”
She nods and takes my hands, allowing me to pull her to her feet.
Not meeting my eyes, she lunges to cling to me in a cuddle, as she breaks down sobbing.
“Sssshshshshshsssh! It’s alright now… everything’s fine… you’re niiiiice and safe!” I say, stroking her thick, red hair, reassuringly.
Normally, allowing myself to be hugged by a trainee would be right out…
This isn’t ‘normally’, though…