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"My head..." groaned Marina.
"Drink this" ordered Chloe, handing her a frothing liquid.
"It's champagne! You're trying to poison me."
"It's not champagne. It's fizzy water with salt and sugar in it to
rehydrate you. Plus a couple of headache tablets for good measure."
"Does it work?"
"I tried it out on myself earlier and I feel fine now," said
Chloe. This was a slight exaggeration. She wasn't feeling any worse, but she
hadn't drunk as much as Marina, who now finds her vision of the world unblurring
after a few sips, and notices the crumpled other half of her bed. Her first
thought, that Carlos was back, was dispelled by the absence of familiar physical
signs.
"Did we sleep together last night? I don't seem to remember what
happened after I got to bed."
"'Sleep' is the operative verb. By the time I dragged you to bed, I was
too tired to go anywhere else, so I slept here." She turns to go away.
"No. I didn't mean for you to go. I do remember something about last
night. Yes, it's all coming back. We're friends now, aren't we?"
Chloe sits cautiously down on the edge of the bed. Then, remembering where
she had spent the night, she slides in under the duvet. "I told you all my
secrets last night."
Marina beckons for Chloe to rest her head on her shoulder. "But there
was another one wasn't there?"
"Yes. When you and Carlos were together, I was jealous."
"But I thought you didn't like him that much.."
Chloe croaks hesitantly "Hrgmph. I didn't mean I was jealous of you for
being with Carlos. What I meant was that I was jealous of Carlos for being with
you." There are some things once said cannot be unsaid. Her heartbeat
seemed to her to be very loud. Or was it Marina's heart that was thudding in her
ear? Marina grinned and stroked her hair. The heartbeats seemed quiet.
"I thought I wasn't imagining things last night. So, you're after my
body after all?"
"Does the idea put you off?" But Marina avoided answering
directly.
"Were you trying to get me drunk last night?"
"Yes. But I was also trying to get myself drunk, so I could lose my
inhibitions enough to tell you the truth about the mission I was very worried
you would take it badly."
"All those handsome fighter pilots, laid out in their frozen beds, you
mean? I wonder how we should choose which ones to wake up? Do you suppose men
have erections in their frozen sleep?" Marina's words tease, but she
strokes Chloe's hair again reassuringly.
"How's your headache?" asks Chloe guiltily, remembering her own.
"It feels like it's going, but I'm going to have to disturb you."
She moves Chloe's head aside and onto the pillow. Chloe turns away as if to go.
"No, don't go. I suppose we could wake up the pilots if there was any
real trouble, but I'm sure we're quite safe at the moment. Keep the bed warm,
and I'll be straight back."
In the dark recesses of the ship, all is quiet. The hidden navy crew sleep
on undisturbed. The only glowing lights are in Marina's quarters. And soon they
too, become dim. On the main control deck the monitors report silently on the
state of the watch. But soon, above the hum of the computers, a moaning sound
can be heard. These are not the sounds of cold haunting ghosts, and they are not
the sounds of pain. And after the last cry there is silence. The computers scan
relentlessly. No enemies have been detected. No ships have intruded this space.
No alarms sound... |
