Cheyenne slept late the next day. It was midmorning when she rose out of the gel of the tank to inspect the room. Lana was up, sitting on the couch reading and drinking coffee. She must have slept late as well.
"You ready to get up?" she asked when she noticed Cheyenne. Cheyenne nodded.
"Janda?"
"He's helping the staff healers. They brought in a deep spacer last night. Took some heavy radiation when part of his suit's shielding gave out. He's showing the staff some of the things we did with you." She queried the system and then told Janda. "I'm going to start getting Cheyenne up."
"I'll be done in a few minutes," he replied. "Then be right over."
They'd done the face patches before he got back. But as the patching to cover her skin got smaller and less complicated with each passing day, the soft tissue growing to cover her fingers and feet grew more complicated. It frustrated Cheyenne. She knew objectively that this was a good sign, a sign she was healing, but it felt like a step backwards.
When they were done, Janda went into the kitchen to prepare Cheyenne a late breakfast and the healers an early lunch. Lana led Cheyenne to the shower cubicle to wash the remaining gel off.
"It's not fair," Cheyenne teased, pulling on Lana's robes. "You've seen my whole body naked, touched everything. I've not had the same privilege." Her heart raced as she said it, this was a line they hadn't crossed yet. But now that they were off the Corelean, it felt right.
Lana laughed, shed her robe and joined her in the shower. "You're right, though I am not sure this little shower is quite the place. I could book us a larger room, or time in a private spa."
"For now, it'll do," Cheyenne said, running her hand playfully over Lana's soft flesh. They kissed and touched for a long time. "I don't really have any clue what I'm doing here," Cheyenne admitted after some time.
"I think you are doing just fine," Lana told her. "Though you might want to try this." Her hand slid between Cheyenne's legs and rubbed against her sex in tight, firm circles.
Cheyenne's head spun as waves of pleasure shook her body. "Yeah, that's pretty darn good," she managed to gasp out before her first orgasm took her. When it had passed, she lay against the wall of the shower, panting.
"Like this," Lana said. She took Cheyenne's hand, kissed one finger tenderly and then guided it down to her own sex.
Cheyenne sexual education and experience had been rather limited. She thought of sex as intercourse, with the ideal being both partners climaxing simultaneously. This back and forth was new to her. But watching Lana orgasm was almost as intense as her own orgasm had been, especially knowing she was the cause of it.
When they had finished and redressed in the cramped bathroom, Janda was waiting for them with a knowing smirk on his face. "Was there a problem?" he asked. "It took you guys awhile."
Cheyenne blushed, unused to her sex life gathering such casual interest. Lana merely through her old robe at him. "Put that in the laundry, apprentice," she commanded, joking.
"Oh, so that's how it is?" he replied in mock outrage.
After a leisurely meal Cheyenne said she wanted to go to the market. They would depart for the station the next day and she wanted to have some sort of souvenir for her kids and mom. They wandered a long time, Cheyenne lost in inspecting items.
"This would look good on you," Lana said, holding up a long top known in Consortium as a kurtini. The top hung to just above the knee in "male" fashion and just below the knee in "female" fashions. Both sexes typically wore pants underneath the top. The distinctions between male and female dress were subtle and not always observed, one of the reasons that the American crew had such a problem with gender distinctions early in their stay.
The kurtini that Lana was holding up was blue with brilliant silver embroidery. Lana had a couple of similar tops back at the hotel, but neither were near as fine as this. "It is lovely," she said taking it up. "I wonder what sizes they have? I bet Mom and Mackenzie would like these."
A woman appeared from deep within the stall and helped Cheyenne find three tops. Lana insisted on purchasing them as a gift. Cheyenne received a system message while they were still arguing about that. It was Madsen and his holographic form appeared in front of her.
"We are having a small get together for the missile crew tonight, over supper. To celebrate our last night on the base ship," he said.
"Sounds good," she said. He gave her the name of the restaurant. When she had dismissed him and turned back, Lana was holding the tops and informed her in a smug tone that she'd already paid. Cheyenne scowled and then thanked her.
Janda came rushing up with his hands behind his back. "Found the perfect thing for youngest, a couple booths down." He held out a scale replica of the Corelean, or at least a medical evac ship like her.
"That's it," Cheyenne exclaimed.
Janda had already paid and he waved away her offers to pay him back. She was thankful, but frustrated by her own lack of contribution as they made their way back so she could rest until it was time for the evening get together.
######
"You wanted to see me?" Fox asked as he stepped into Lannister's temporary office.
Lannister half rose, returned Fox's salute and gestured towards a chair. Out of the corner of his eye Fox noticed the Corelean's pilot, Tellki, sitting in the corner. "Am I interrupting?" he asked.
"It's no problem," Lannister assured him. "This won't take long."
"Okay."
"I wanted to talk to you about what happens now," Lannister said.
"We're going to be on Shoshone Station," Fox said.
"You'll be there a long time, if I'm not mistaken," Lannister said. "Almost as long as Walker."
Fox looked down the length of his metallic arm. "Perhaps longer," Fox said.
"Really?"
"It's the craziest thing," Fox told him. "My eighty year old grandmother claims she's going to immigrate."
"Immigrate?"
"Yeah, the Shoshone tribe opened their opportunity up to all tribes, said anyone who wants can come, live on the station and be part of their cultural collective. I'm thinking when I get out, I should move in, help her out."
"I can see how that would be tempting for young people, but..."
"Yeah, I know. But I think you hit the nail on the head. See, she's raising a my niece and nephew, both have had struggles. Life on the rez ain't easy. My niece is fifteen and already has a kid. My nephew has had some drug problems. I think grandma thinks they'll have a better future on the station then back home. I agree."
"I hope she's right."
"But I'm sure that's not what you wanted to talk about."
"No, it's your naval career, your next assignment."
Fox thought. "That'll be a year or more down the road. But I've almost two left to go in my enlistment, so I guess there will be one. I don't know. I'm suspecting Madsen's right..."
Lannister glanced at Tellki. "I can't say. I've had my own suspicions. Well, I won't beat around the bush. This isn't official until after the banquet, so keep it quiet, okay?" When Fox nodded he went on. "I've got a new command."
"Wow, congratulations," Fox said. "That was quick. Guess Madsen wasn't right."
"I wouldn't jump to that conclusion," Lannister warned. "They want to appoint me to the joint command team for the station. Said I had unique qualifications."
"Because you've spent the last six weeks interacting with consortium officials, you know some of the misunderstandings that are likely to occur," Fox said. And you've been bio-identified, so none of them have to run that risk.
"At any rate, I was hoping you'd be my security chief. You have an even more unique set of qualifications."
"Because I've been working among them? I don't know that that qualifies me to be running the show," Fox replied.
"Don't worry, you won't be. Me either, for that matter. We will both be leaning heavily on our consortium counter parts for the foreseeable future. I've no clue how to run one of these stations. I've been reading up, and I can't make heads or tails of any of it. Tellki here has been trying to explain, but I'm a slow learner, I'm afraid."
"Nonsense, you are learning," Tellki contradicted. "You are simply making things harder than you need to."
"Anyway," Lannister went on, "your unique qualifications as I see it are; you've worked military law, you've seen consortium law in action, your dad worked civilian police and you're Native American, so you can bridge the gap with this cultural collective. As I see that all makes you the perfect man for the job."
Fox nodded. "Can I think about?"
"Sure, but think about this, too. You're going to be stuck on that station until you're arm is covered in flesh. I don't think you are the type that can take it easy, not for that long."
"You're probably right," Fox admitted. "But I'd still like to sleep on it." He would sleep on it to, before he answered. He always did that with major decisions. But as he left he was already thinking he should contact Sukira, get some training manuals on Consortium security protocols.