A Young Girl’s War Between the Stars

  66

  Mandalore. 36 BBY/964 GSC.

  Satine saw us off at the city’s space port, following us to the Rusted Silver with a pair of Mando guards. She wrapped me in a hug and planted a kiss on each of my cheeks that I was pretty sure were for the benefit of the few onlookers who had realized who she was.

  I thought I saw someone with a camera, but when I glanced over, they had slipped away. I could still feel them however, and I didn’t like what I felt—whoever it was, they were here specifically to observe us, and they wanted to be very sneaky about it.

  Leaning in, Satine pressed her lips against my ear where no one would see and whispered, “Come back soon.”

  I nodded as she pulled away with a smile. “It was good to see you again. We’ll let you know the next time we’re in the area.”

  With that, I ushered my Padawans and Arthree into the ship before turning and catching the attention of one of the Mando guards. I pointed to my eyes, then the direction I had felt the spy or whoever it was go. The Mando nodded and my passive radio formula picked up encrypted radio chatter from the Mandos as the message was relayed. With that done, I sealed the hatch and made my way into the cockpit.

  Allaya and Asajj fought briefly over the copilot seat while Arthree moved back to his socket and slotted in. Sighing, I got up and grabbed Allaya, stuffing her into my chair and forcing her to strap in as Asajj did likewise in the copilot’s seat. “Alright. Both of you, focus on the Force. Reach out to the ship and feel what needs to be done. And don’t close your eyes. You need to see what you’re doing.”

  With that, I began guiding them through the preflight and startup sequence, using a combination of the Force and simple instructions, explaining what each control did, what the gauges they needed to look at meant, and so on. Eventually, I reached up and grabbed the grab bar overhead.

  “Throttle up slowly,” I instructed, and Allaya did so, easing us up off the ground. “Come around one hundred and eighty degrees.” The ship spun slowly, wobbling slightly and overshooting just a bit before she corrected. “Now, ease the throttle open a bit, then take us out.”

  Once we were clear, I let the girls take turns piloting the ship over the empty desert for a bit, before I had Asajj take us up and break atmo. We received a hail from the Redoubt and I reached out and hit the button to accept.

  “Rusted Silver, this is the Redoubt. We’ve got the barn door open and the engines warmed up, if you’re ready to go.”

  “Roger that, Redoubt. I’ve got two green trainee pilots in the seats, and I want to get them some time behind the controls. Please let the captain know we’ll dock in an hour or so.”

  “Understood, Silver. Redoubt out.”

  I shut off the comm and leaned over the seats. “Now, point her out into empty space, then you can open her up and see how she handles.”

  “Mm!” Allaya nodded, doing as instructed.

  Soon enough, my computation orb ticked over an hour and I tapped Asajj on the shoulder. “Turn us for the ship and bring us in.” She nodded and brought us about, and I tapped Allaya’s shoulder and pointed to the controls needed next. “Input this sequence to request auto docking. The ship will let you know when we’re locked in and you can let go of the controls.”

  I stayed on hand to guide them through the docking sequence, watching to make sure nothing went wrong. Once the ship touched down, I reached out and hit the sequence to shut down and secure the ship. “And that’s it. I’ll speak with some people on the ship and see if there’s a simulator or two I can stuff you two into to get some simulated flight hours, before I turn you loose on an actual craft. Now, gather your things and let’s go.”

  Moving out of the cockpit, I grabbed my bag and waited for the girls, before hitting the hatch control. They followed me down the ramp and paused at the small group waiting for us. A familiar face stood in the small crowd and Cindy waved as I met her eyes.

  “Officer on deck!” the captain called, and the group saluted, as everyone in the hangar turned and did likewise.

  I returned the salute. “As you were,” I called, and waited for them to get back to what they were doing, before nodding at the captain. “Thank you for having me, Capt. Keen.”

  “Any time, Lt. Col. Mereel,” she nodded, before turning and gesturing for us to come with her.

  The girls fell in behind us as Cindy moved up to my right side, the captain on my left. “So this is the ‘secret project?’”

  “Hehe~. Yeeeah,” Cindy nodded. “We did a little remodeling to add proper quarters for a flagship, quarters for your Padawans, and consulted Count Dooku on designing some small facilities fit for Jedi stuff. I think you’ll like it. Also had to make a few modifications to the environmental systems, to filter particulates, chemicals, and the like. We’re still testing those…”

  Cindy shared a look with the captain, who said, “I’ll have my chief engineer get with you on that.”

  “Good,” the blonde nodded.

  “More defenses against biological or chemical warfare are always good,” I agreed. “But it sounds like the cabin modifications took up a significant chunk of space. And space is at a premium on a ship…”

  “Thankfully, we had some space to spare,” Capt. Keen nodded. “It just took a little shuffling of the crew.”

  Frowning, I sent the older woman a concerned look. “I didn’t displace you or cause any trouble for the officers with this, did I?”

  “Not at all,” the captain shook her head. Reaching up, she brushed a strand of short, black hair behind her ear. “They were quarters topside of the main battery that would have been used to house enlisted men and a small rec area for that part of the ship, but we aren’t fully crewed as it is.” Before I could comment, she clarified, “We have enough people to handle everything with room left over, we’re just not at capacity. We have room to spare. They built her big.”

  “I see,” I murmured, nodding.

  “We’ve already got your office set up. If you need anything, Sgt. Able is at your disposal.” I nodded and she continued as we started up a set of stairs, “I’ve been told we were to wait for orders from you on our destination.”

  It wasn’t a question, but the expectation was there. “We’ll discuss it in my office, after we drop my Padawans off to settle in.” Capt. Keen raised an eyebrow at that, but remained silent.

  Soon enough, we entered a corridor that didn’t seem to have much, if any traffic. We got nearly halfway down before Cindy thumbed the switch to open a door. “This is the training room,” she said and I poked my head in for a moment to have a look around, as it actually seemed to span two floors in height. “The floor and walls are actually linked tiles, and there are poles and other shapes stored behind them, so you can use it for training telekinesis, as an obstacle course, for sparring, and other stuff. It’s also got a swarm of training drones, for practice with blasters.”

  We moved on to the next room, which was entirely bare save for panels on the ceiling for the lights. “Meditation room. Count Dooku said you’d set it up to your liking?”

  “Yes. There are things I can do with this much space that I can’t on the Rusted Silver,” I nodded, and we moved on.

  The next rooms were a lounge and small kitchen area, quarters for Allaya and Asajj, and a restroom for them. Finally, we came to my office, with a connected bedroom and bathroom. I noticed that the bedroom had been decorated much as my quarters on my stealth ship had, with plants from Zeltros, Dathomir, and Tython—the same ones that were in the Rusted Silver, including the plant that I used for tea leaves.

  “This is perfect. Thank you both,” I nodded to Cindy and Capt. Keen as I dropped my bag in my bedroom. “Give me five minutes.”

  Stepping inside, I quickly peeled off my new temporary armor and stored it on the human shaped armor rack in the corner of the room, then removed my vac suit and stored it in the closet, before moving back into the office area. Making my way over to the small round table with a color holo projector and holocom built in, I tapped the controls and brought up a map of the galaxy. A wave of my hand at the door sealed it, and a quick formula checked the room for listening devices just to be sure, but found none that I didn’t expect—namely, the microphones built into the projector, at the computer desk, and beside the door.

  Looking up at both of the older women, I said, “What I am about to tell you is secret. I’m sure it’s going to get out eventually, but it won’t be from us. From this point forward, until we leave our destination system, we are to run under a complete comms blackout. Nothing in, nothing out.”

  “Understood. I’ll make sure it’s taken care of before we leave,” Capt. Keen nodded.

  Tapping the galaxy map, I selected Jedha. “We’re going to Jedha, where the Jedi have relocated their Temple. No one, aside from us and your navigational officers, is to know this. We’ll drop out of hyperspace early and I’ll make my way there while you keep the ship off the usual travel lanes. I’m not sure exactly what we’re doing there, but it shouldn’t be more than a few days, perhaps a week at most. Then we’ll see where we go from there.”

  “Understood,” the captain confirmed. “Anything else I should know, before I get us underway?”

  “No—” I paused, considering. “Actually, I may have you arrange a stop along the way and a quick meetup with a friendly ship. I need to get my other fighter, just in case. We have no stealth element on this ship, so I want one. I’ll put in a call and arrange for pickup, likely at Coruscant. Give me a few minutes to get that message off before you engage the comms blackout.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the captain saluted, before turning and hurrying from the room.

  Frowning as I noticed the woman’s emotions slip for a moment, radiating anxiety and relief, and oddly enough arousal, I was caught off guard by Cindy speaking. Looking away from the door as it closed again, I sent her a smile. “Sorry, I was distracted. What was that?”

  The blonde shook her head. Cocking her hip, she shut off the hologram between us and rested her hands on the table. “I said, I heard some juicy scuttlebutt while you were out flying the kids around.”

  “Oh?” I asked, curious where she was going, especially given the amusement and… other emotions I was sensing from her. Still, I had something to do. Pulling out my holocom, I typed out a quick message to Capt. Taris. I knew my stealth ship was in the area—and in fact should be coming off of leave within the next day or so. It wouldn’t hurt us to delay that long to meet up with the ship at Coruscant if we needed to.

  “Oh yeah,” Cindy nodded. Looking down, she buffed her nails on her shirt, her tone entirely too casual as she said, “Something about you and Satine staying up late…”

  I sighed, hitting ‘send’ and pushing away from the table as I pocketed the holocom. I moved over to the couch against the far wall, next to my bedroom door, and took a seat. Cindy followed, dropping down onto the couch directly beside me, close enough that I could feel her body heat. “So?”

  I rolled my eyes. “We spent the night together.” She sent me an amused look, expectant.

  The blonde mechanic grinned, nodding. “So, are you dating, or…?”

  I paused at her confused look. “We’re not in a relationship, sexual or otherwise per Royal Road Terms of Service and Moderator John. We’re just friends.”

  “I see, I see,” she murmured. The blonde woman sent me a smile, before resting her hand on my thigh. Cindy’s nails were just long enough to dig into my thigh through the material of my robe

  Then, the tease patted my thigh and hopped up, stretching and popping her back in a way that drew my eyes to her everything, before she straightened up with a grin. “Alright then. I’m gonna get back to it. Do a quick maintenance on the Rusted Silver before I go check the new filtration system and do a shift for the Redoubt. You want to hang out later, after my shift’s over?”

  I would admit to not being the most socially adept individual in the world, but I would have had to be a complete imbecile to miss the blatant teasing in her words. I’d spent time alone with the mechanic before and she was fine company. Now however, I was reminded of the growth spurt I’d had since enlisting and returning.

  With that in mind, I nodded once. “Sure.”

  “Great! See you then,” she grinned, then spun and made for the door.

  “Oh! One more thing,” I called, and she paused at the door, turning to send me an amused look. Unfortunately, I was deadly serious, and she quickly picked up on that as she straightened up. “Don’t touch the reptiles in the display cases. There should be a green snake and two brown lizards. You should be able to see them from the hatch. If you don’t, close the hatch and move away very carefully, while minding your surroundings. Alert whoever is on duty in the hangar and tell them to clear the area, then call me immediately.”

  “Uhhh, boss,” she looked worried. “What did you bring on board?”

  “Nothing you need to worry about, so long as those enclosures stay shut,” I assured her. She didn’t need to know the specifics, and I highly doubted the captain would approve of transporting a couple of rock dragons and a Kodashi viper. “They’re transparisteel, and they’re physically sealed and locked. You would have to intentionally tamper with one to get it open. The animals inside are unlikely to attack anyone if they get loose, just so long as they aren’t cornered or threatened.”

  Cindy winced, but nodded. “Alright,” she murmured. “But if I die, I’m haunting your ship.”

  “Those are fair terms.”

  The blonde rolled her eyes, before leaving my office. I followed after her, feeling out the Force and finding my Padawans in their small rec room, looking annoyed as they tried and failed to get the entertainment system working as the words ‘NO SIGNAL’ hovered in the middle of the projection.

  “Having problems?” I asked, leaning against the door frame.

  “Master, this thing is busted!” Allaya complained, smacking the table. “Can you get someone to fix it?”

  “It’s not broken,” I shook my head, and the pair sent me confused looks. “We’re operating under comms blackout conditions from now until we leave the Jedi temple. That also means no holonet, no live shows or movies, and so on. You’re going to have to learn to load up your holocoms with entertainment for when you’re off the grid. Take this as a lesson: failure to plan is planning to fail. This time, you simply don’t have entertainment. Next time, what if you’re missing a critical piece of gear you forgot? That’s your assignment when we get done with training: make a checklist of things you both think you’ll need for, let’s say three different conditions. Those conditions are… travel to a city undercover, a month on a desert planet, and a month on a temperate forest world.”

  “Can we ask you for help?” Asajj asked, and I sent her an amused look.

  “I’ll help you after you make your lists. And just this once, I’ll share my own library of entertainment.” I pulled out my holocom and synced it to the table with the projector, before copying over a bunch of movies and series I had downloaded—mostly historical accounts from the last five thousand years of the Republic. It was essentially a highlights reel of how the Republic had changed leading up to and after the Ruusan Reformation and only covered the broad strokes, but it would pass the time.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Now, let’s go test this training room,” I grinned, and the girls winced, following after as they radiated trepidation.

  I didn’t see what they were so afraid of. A room that could be adjusted to the user’s whim, allowing one to move around terrain with the use of telekinesis sounded incredibly fun, and like an amazingly useful training tool. The fact that it also had training drones I could teach the girls to practice on was a huge bonus in my opinion. Of course, they didn’t have their lightsabers yet, but that was fine. They didn’t need a lightsaber to learn how to anticipate danger and dodge…

  Later that evening, after I’d finished my meditation and turned the girls loose to enjoy themselves in their rec room—playing a game very much like table tennis on the holo projector—my door chimed. Reaching out to the Force, I felt the familiar presence of Cindy on the other side and called, “Enter.”

  The blonde entered carrying a covered tray and crossed the room to sit down opposite me at my desk as she put it down. I finished up the last of my work putting in requisition forms for parts and time in the Redoubt’s machine shop for tomorrow, before shutting off the computer. As I did, Cindy pulled the top off the tray, revealing a spread of dishes.

  “That smells amazing,” I said, my stomach grumbling as I felt myself start to drool a bit. “Tea?”

  “Sure,” she agreed, and I stood up to go pluck some fresh leaves for myself and pick out something safer for her, then used the small kitchenette to heat water in two pots, then let it steep. When I returned, Cindy was already working on putting together a bowl for herself.

  “What is it?” I asked, pouring us both a cup.

  “Uh,” she studied it for a moment, before laughing. “I dunno! It’s what they had in the chow hall. Smells good though.” She took her chopsticks and picked up a bite, then nodded. She covered her mouth, even as she answered around her food, “Tastes good too.”

  I pulled some noodles into a bowl and sampled the sauces until I found one I liked, that reminded me of soy sauce. Then I sampled the meat. The darker one tasted similar to steak, while the lighter like chicken. I chose the chicken, then moved on to vegetables. Mixing everything together, I took a bite and let out an appreciative hum. It reminded me of an udon dish, and for a moment I felt a pang of homesickness.

  Pushing the feeling aside, I asked, “Nothing wrong with the ship?”

  “Oh, no! I just wanted to check in on my baby,” she admitted with a grin. “I can tell you’ve been treating her right.”

  “Of course,” I agreed easily. “You put a lot of time and effort into her. I wouldn’t disrespect that by treating her poorly.”

  “Well,” Cindy drew out the word, radiating mischief. “You don’t have to baby her, boss. She’ll handle whatever you throw at her, even if you get a little rough.”

  I looked up in time to catch the blonde wink at me and rolled my eyes in return. “What have I told you? When we’re off the clock, it’s Tanya. I won’t pressure my subordinates or employees to the point that they can’t relax in their off hours, if I happen to wander by.”

  “Sure, sure,” she waved the reprimand off. “So, how are you enjoying being a teen mom?”

  I nearly choked on my noodles. Picking up my cup of tea, I cleared my throat and glared as the woman across from me laughed. Worse yet, I couldn’t even deny it! It was factually accurate in Asajj’s case, if only by adoption. Of course, glaring only made her laugh harder.

  “I’ll remember that remark,” I warned.

  “Worth it, for the look on your face,” Cindy stuck out her tongue.

  I am going to do unspeakable things to you, I mentally grumbled, already contemplating payback. She wasn’t one of my soldiers so I couldn’t simply PT her until she passed out, or send her outside to sweep the sunshine off the hull, but I’d think of something. As for the actual question…

  “On the way here from Dathomir, I was seriously considering rolling the windows down. What does that tell you?”

  Cindy winced. “That bad?”

  “Only when they’re cooped up in close quarters and bored,” I shrugged. “Otherwise, they’re fine.”

  Conversation remained light as we finished our meal and put everything back on the tray. We moved to the couch and, for some reason, I found the blonde’s head occupying my lap as she closed her eyes with a yawn.

  “I’m just going to take a little after meal nap,” Cindy sighed, shifting to get comfortable.

  “Long hours?” I asked, and she nodded.

  “Still catching up on my sleep debt.”

  I considered the woman for just a moment, before pulling out my holocom and resting it on her chest, below her bosom, and bringing up a book to read. I could protest and push her off, but a lap pillow wasn’t exactly a big ask from a female friend. Besides, giving her one meant I could cash in on the favor later, and Cindy’s thighs looked very inviting…

  “Very well.”

  The hand not occupied with occasionally scrolling the book found its way to Cindy’s head. Her short hair was fluffy and soft, and a delight to scratch my fingers through. She drifted off not long after I started. As though sensing the presence of the perfect bed, I felt a twist in the Force and Catya leapt onto the couch, before curling herself up on the blonde’s bare belly. I merely shook my head and went back to my book.

  Hyperspace. In transit from Coruscant to Jedha. 36 BBY/964 GSC.

  I frowned as I finished up with training for the day. Sending the girls to get cleaned up and enjoy their free time, I briefly considered going to get cleaned up myself before changing my mind. No, the nagging feelings I was sensing were starting to intrude, forcing me to keep my mental shields raised, and I very much wanted to hunt down the source of this utter lack of discipline on a military vessel.

  So, I left the training room and reached out with the Force—following the feelings of lust, arousal, and excitement through the ship. The closer I got, the more it felt like walking into a field of pure, concentrated randy energy.

  Horny energons, if you will.

  I followed the stairs down, below the central run through the ship blocked off by the railgun barrels. Entering a corridor, I found myself in enlisted country, just going by the noise level at this hour. It was just past the evening shift change, so everyone who had been on first shift was now off duty and had either returned to their quarters, gone to a rec room, hit the galley, or otherwise found something to occupy themselves with. The sounds of conversations, laughter, roughhousing, music, and other entertainment filled the corridor as I made my way down it.

  Here and there, behind closed doors, I felt a couple clearly engaged in recreation between themselves. Behind closed doors, that wasn’t against regulations. After all, the Mandalorians operated coed units and expected that sort of thing to happen. Medical technology was readily available and issued free of charge to prevent the expected outcome of such rendezvous. They lived by the idea of ‘live hard, play hard,’ as most soldiers I’d met tended to—with few exceptions.

  Still, a few couples here and there didn’t account for what I was sensing. No, it would take nearly the whole deck’s worth of soldiers to get this sort of effect, I imagined. So, I pressed on, moving closer. Until eventually, I found it.

  One door in particular stood closed, and from behind it issued forth sounds the likes of which would put every brothel I’d had the misfortune to pass to shame.

  …Kind of reminds me of Zeltros, actually, I mused, feeling a bit annoyed at the reminder of one of the big reasons I had left.

  Bracing myself and reinforcing my mental shields, I opened the door. “Alright, what’s going… on…”

  Taking in the scene before me, I blanched.

  “Here?”

  Ah yes, just like home.

  [Edited to remove a scene happening in proximity to a minor, to comply with RR ToS per Moderator John.]

  What the hell is going on?! Have they gone mad?! Is it some hallucinogen? Chemical warfare? Failure of the atmosphere system? A saboteur?! Are we under attack?

  I didn’t feel anyone on the ship with hostile intent, but droids didn’t have feelings. I also didn’t really sense any danger, aside from the low level danger that came with being around a crew of highly lethal killing machines who thought mixing alcohol and either blades or blasters sounded like a fun time.

  Finding my Padawans in their own little rec room, playing another game of table tennis, I breathed a sigh of relief that whatever was affecting the men hadn’t gotten to them. They looked up as I stopped in the door, immediately sensing something was wrong.

  “Master?” Asajj asked, as Allaya looked behind me for some threat.

  “Stay inside. Lock the door behind me. Don’t open it for anyone other than me, Cindy, or the captain. Understand?” They nodded. “I’ll be back for you once I understand the situation.”

  Seeing they understood, I closed the door and heard the lock engage. Then, I moved to my quarters and tapped the holocom on the table, connecting to the bridge. The comms officer picked up immediately. “Lt. Col. Mereel, how can I help you, ma’am?”

  “Is Capt. Keen available?” I asked.

  “She just went off duty. Would you like me to patch you through to her personal comm, or would you prefer to speak to the XO?”

  I considered for a moment, before deciding against bothering the XO. While the captain was off duty, this was a somewhat sensitive matter, and I’d prefer to get to the bottom of it without putting the ship on alert if it turned out to be nothing.

  “The captain, please,” I answered.

  “One moment, ma’am,” the comms officer answered, and the screen flashed ‘Transferring…’

  A few seconds later, Capt. Keen picked up, audio only. “Hah, colonel? How ah, how can I help you?”

  She sounded somewhat out of breath. I didn’t enjoy the idea of interrupting her if she was in the middle of her exercise routine, but I’d already made the call. “I realize you’re off duty, captain—”

  “Then call me Aylin,” the woman chuckled.

  “Aylin. Do you have a moment?”

  There was a pause, then a very reluctant, “Yes. What do you need?”

  “It’s a matter that requires some discretion…”

  The woman was silent for several moments, before finally giving her answer. “I’ll be there shortly.”

  “Thank you.”

  The line went dead and I shut off the holo terminal. The minutes seemed to drag on, until my door chimed. I opened it with a flick of the wrist and Aylin entered, followed by Cindy. The captain was in a set of black overalls, tied off at the waist, with only a light sleeveless shirt on top.

  “Alright,” the woman asked, moving to the table. “What’s the matter?”

  Looking between the two older women, Cindy sent me a smile as I wondered why she was there. “Don’t worry about it, boss. Just a bet we’ve got going. Go ahead! What’s up?”

  Frowning, I dismissed the whatever those two had going on and focused on the issue at hand. “Being a Zeltron comes with certain abilities,” I began, earning a chuckle from Cindy.

  “No kidding,” she muttered, and I could feel her green eyes lingering on my body.

  I chose to ignore it and continued—this wasn’t the time for flirting. “One of those is the ability to sense emotions, and presences through those emotions. For this reason, I generally dislike being among crowds. Typically, I haven’t had any issue being on ships, but lately, for the last week or so in fact, I’ve noticed some things building within the ship. It’s come to a head and for the past two days I’ve sensed… a serious breach in discipline among the crew. I tracked down the source of the commotion to the lower deck—”

  Cindy held out her hand to Aylin, but the dark haired woman held a hand up to stop her as I paused. “And…?”

  “And I found it,” I mumbled, having a sneaking suspicion the two of them knew exactly what I had found and where.

  “Tch.” Aylin clicked her tongue and reached into her top and the sports bra beneath. Pulling out a stack of credits, she counted out several before handing them off to Cindy. “Enjoy it while it lasts,” the captain grumbled.

  Blinking at the exchange, I pointed between the two. “…The two of you were aware of what’s going on in the lower deck. And you bet on it. On me finding it.”

  The dark haired woman let out a gusty sigh as Cindy tucked the credits into her own top and made her way over to the couch before sitting down. Patting the seat beside her, she grinned. “Have a seat.”

  “Oooh, no. We aren’t having this conversation without lubricant,” Aylin shook her head. “You two stay here, I’ll be back.” She glared at Cindy. “Don’t start without me.”

  Confused, I joined Cindy on the couch, only to be pulled into the blonde’s lap. Her arms wrapped around my waist from behind and she dropped her chin on my shoulder.

  “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

  “Not until she gets back,” my mechanic chuckled. “It’ll be more fun that way, trust me.”

  A few minutes later, Aylin returned with glasses and a bottle. Locking the door behind her, she took the other open seat on the couch and began pouring. I managed to extricate myself from Cindy’s lap and took the offered glass.

  “So… we’re not dealing with sabotage, or some sort of nitrogen or carbon monoxide issue with the environmental systems? It’s not a chemical attack?” I asked, before taking a sip. It wasn’t the fine brandy Satine enjoyed, but it wasn’t terrible either. It was some sort of whiskey, I thought—though I wasn’t sure. My experience was mostly with cheap beer and sake.

  “Oh, it’s definitely a problem with the environmental system,” Aylin grumbled as she drained her glass in one go and poured a second. This one she sipped at as she added, “And yeah, it’s a chemical effect. It’s… not harmless, but not an attack either.”

  I turned a confused look on Cindy. “Didn’t you tell me you did something to prevent exactly this sort of thing?”

  “Yeeeah,” Cindy laughed. “Wasn’t good enough. It clings to everything and it lingers. So even if we’re actively filtering it from the atmo, just a little is enough to contaminate an area for days, apparently.”

  “So, what is it? Some sort of psychedelic? An intoxicant? …A sexual stimulant?”

  The two older women shared a look at that, before Aylin nodded. “It’s an aphrodisiac, among other things. It doesn’t lower inhibitions and it won’t make someone do something they wouldn’t normally, but it increases libido.”

  “Grabs the knob and rips it right off,” Cindy nodded.

  “Alright. Then we’ll track it down and eject it from the ship. It can’t be that difficult,” I suggested.

  Aylin chuckled. “Well, if you want to take a space walk, be my guest. I wouldn’t recommend it in hyperspace, however.”

  “Huh?”

  Cindy held out her hand again and this time, the captain didn’t bother arguing as she pulled the rest of the credits out and handed them over. I turned an annoyed look on the blonde, who sent me a mischievous look. “It’s you, boss. You’re the source.”

  Frowning, I asked, “What? What are you talking—” The realization hit like a truck. “Oh. Ooh.”

  Aylin raised an eyebrow. “Did you forget?”

  “Well, y—no! It’s just, it never affected me before,” I began, only for my mind to supply several instances during my stint in the Republic army war college of my classmates losing discipline and focus, and going off for a quickie somewhere. “Okay, yes. Now that I think about it, it must have started when puberty kicked in and my pheromones changed. But it’s never been this bad!”

  “We’re in a tin can, floating through space, breathing recycled farts and drinking recycled piss and bathwater. We don’t have a planet’s worth of space and trees to filter or spread it out,” Aylin pointed out. “It’s in the air. It’s in the water. It’s on the walls. We’d have to scrub the ship from stem to stern to get it all out. Cindy’s plan with modifying the atmospheric scrubbers was a good one, and it helped a bit at first, but we didn’t have all the information we needed. Now that we do, we’ve realized just how screwed we are.”

  I closed my eyes and winced. “I am so—”

  “It’s not your fault,” Aylin shook her head. “The entire ship was made aware of it when we were given the assignment. Everyone was offered the chance to transfer. A few took it, but those that remained are here voluntarily. Pretty sure all of the upper brass knows.”

  “Then Satine,” I glanced at Cindy, who nodded.

  “Oh yeah,” Aylin confirmed. “Her advisors probably pitched a shit fit when she invited you to spend the night, complaining about all the ways you could unduly influence her.”

  “Shit,” I hissed. “Then I can’t go back any time soon.”

  “You should be able to control it,” the dark haired woman pointed out. “Have you tried?”

  “I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” I shook my head. “Maybe meditating on the Force…” I considered it for a moment before dismissing it, as I remembered I could just ask—and I knew exactly who I could call to do so. “Where are we now? The ship, I mean?”

  Aylin hummed, thinking for a moment. “We should be passing Palanhi soon. Why?”

  “It’ll have to be good enough. I need to make a call. Can you get the comms restriction lifted?”

  “If it means my boat stops being used as a fuck pad for horny Mandos? Absolutely,” the woman agreed with a laugh, bouncing up off the couch and hurrying to the holo table.

  “Hey, it could be worse! At least they’re keeping it behind closed doors,” Cindy pointed out.

  “Barely,” Aylin rolled her eyes. “I swear, I’ve been propositioned by everyone on the command staff in the last twenty-four hours.” She dialed the bridge and a moment later, the comms officer answered. “This is the captain. I need a temporary, partial lifting of the comms blackout. Just this terminal. Either I or the colonel will call back to get that put back in place.”

  “Roger that, ma’am. Aaand… done. You’ve got holonet access. We should be in range of enough buoys to place a live call.”

  “Thank you, ensign,” Aylin nodded and disconnected the call.

  I took her place at the holo terminal as she moved back to the couch. As we passed each other, I felt the woman’s attention and her arousal spike. I considered trying to apologize again, but she had already said there was nothing to forgive. Still, I’d find a way to make up for the inconvenience—to the whole crew. Maybe some bonus pay, or some paid leave. There were surely plenty of nice places along the route to where I wanted to go to investigate potential locations for Ghostfire crystals where we could stop off and let the crew enjoy some well deserved R&R.

  I put that thought to the back of my mind as I connected my holocom and called one of the contacts. A few moments later, the line picked up and the familiar face of the matron greeted me from her office. Sharp eyes swept over me, then slid over to Cindy and Aylin, sitting on the couch behind me, but still in frame.

  “Tanya. It seems like every time I see you, you’ve sprouted up again,” she chuckled.

  “Matron. Thank you for answering. I know it’s late there.”

  “Nonsense,” the older woman shook her head. “Besides, I’ve been waiting for this call for some time now.”

  I blinked. “You have?”

  “Oh yes. Let me guess. The people around you have been acting strangely. Like it’s mating season and all they want to do is rut?”

  “How did you know?”

  She chuckled. “I knew you were coming up on that age. It happens to every Zeltron.” She sent me a smile and asked, “So, which one?”

  “Which one… what?” I asked, confused.

  The matron chuckled. “Which one did you sleep with? Or was it both?”

  “We haven’t slept together yet,” Aylin protested from behind me. "Not until she's eighteen, per Royal Road Terms of Service. Obviously."

  “‘Yet,’” the matron emphasized, and I could feel the captain’s embarrassment at the slip.

  I decided to cut to the chase. “It wasn’t either of them. Why? Is that important?”

  “Very. Your pheromones should have already changed by now, but that shot of hormones would kick your body into overdrive, just pumping them out like a broken faucet.” She sent me a knowing look and asked, “Why do you think no one talks about what goes on any time a bunch of teens get together on the planet? It’s a known element.”

  I was fully aware of the city-wide underground teen orgies. They were another reason I had left the planet. What I hadn’t been aware of was why they happened in the first place. But now, it all made sense. That many teens, all crammed together, they’d be setting each other off left and right.

  “Please tell me there’s some way to control it,” I begged, the words coming out more like a groan.

  The matron nodded. “Of course there is. Usually, you’d learn this over time, and figure out how to turn it off or dial it back if you want. But, I take it from your surroundings, you’re on a ship aren’t you?” When I nodded, she sighed. “Yes, you’re not going to be able to take your time learning, if you want to stop influencing everyone around you and avoid turning that ship into a mirror of Zeltros.”

  I nodded. “Yes, please.”

  I could already feel my reputation disintegrating. If I didn’t get this under control soon, I’d have to go into seclusion or something until I could. Which would cause issues with fulfilling my obligations to my Padawans. That thought brought me up short and I made a face.

  At least it’s had no obvious effect on them. …Or if it has, not a sexual one. I’d never forgive myself.

  “Very well. Let’s get started, then,” the matron nodded. “And remember, even if you master it, everything you’ve excreted already will still need to be removed from the environment. Also, direct contact with your bodily fluids is going to have the same effect if you’re at all aroused.”

  “That’s fine. Even just being able to reduce the effect somewhat would be better than nothing at this point.”

  With that, the matron began her lesson, and I listened, doing my best to commit it to memory and grasp what she was telling me.

  Imagine what a disaster it would be, showing up to the Jedi Temple like this. The chaos it would cause.

  [Edit to remove adult thoughts to comply with Royal Road ToS per Moderator John.]