“Enter,” Major Cooper said when she heard a timid rap at her hatch. It hissed open to reveal Lieutenant MacPherson. She entered Cooper’s cabin, stood at attention and saluted, staring straight ahead.
“Lieutenant MacPherson reporting as ordered, Ma’am!”
“Relax, Lieutenant. This isn’t official business. I have a favor to ask.”
“Ma’am?”
“I’ve noticed you like to wear your hair in a French braid.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Do you do it yourself, or do you have one of the other female officers help you?”
“I do it myself, Ma’am.”
“I usually wear my hair in a bun, but I decided I’d like to try something different. I thought I would ask if you would help me braid my hair like yours. I’d do it myself, but it takes so long, and I hate trying to do anything so complex in reverse while staring in the mirror. Whattya say, Lieutenant? You game?”
“Absolutely, Major!” MacPherson said with glee. She grabbed a chair, pulled it into the head and placed it in front of the mirror. She seized a hairbrush off the counter and held it up as she turned to face Cooper, smiling, her other hand on her hip. Then she motioned to the chair with the brush. Cooper dropped her eyes, shook her head and smiled back as she sat down.
Later that day, Hutch and Scarecrow were in the officers’ club, seated at the bar as Cooper strode in and took a seat with a group of transfer Marines. The place was over-crowded with the additional Marines being ferried to the Mars Base from Deep Space Platform Five. They’d been dropped off at LOC by Avarice, and now Nautilus was taking them the final leg of their journey to Mars. In the press, Cooper didn’t notice the two pilots at the bar as she sat.
Scarecrow eyed her, smiling.
“I’ll be right back,” he said to Hutch who turned and spied the reason for his pilot’s hasty departure. He shook his head smiling, then turned back and ordered another sweet tea for his friend.
“Can I get you anything, Major?” Scarecrow offered as he walked up and stood behind Cooper. He dropped his hands onto her shoulders, then let them slide down to rest on the back of her chair. She smiled as she recognized the voice. Cooper stood and turned to face the statuesque Solar Warden pilot. As she spun around, the major wound up inches away as she faced her fiancé. The other Marines seated at the table were somewhat surprised, unaware the two were engaged to be married. Cooper offered Scarecrow an alluring smile, whilst he maintained a more professional bearing.
“I’ll be right back,” she said to the other Marines over her shoulder. “Save my seat.” She led Scarecrow through the milling crowd and off to one side.
“What you can get me,” Cooper said as she stared into Scarecrow’s steel-blue eyes, “would be considered a public display of affection. Perhaps later?”
“Absolutely,” Scarecrow said as he smiled back. He motioned to her braid. “You’ve changed your hair.”
Sandy gripped her French braid at the base and ran her hand down to the tip, twirling the end in her fingers as she did.
“You’ve seen it all morning. Why did you wait until now to mention it?”
“I was trying to remain professional. We’re off-duty now, so I’m allowed to mention personal things.”
“Do you like it?” She stared at him with a coy smile.
“I prefer your hair … untethered. But I love everything about you, and that braid is very flattering. Yes, I like it. Very much.”
“Good. I did it for you. I think I’ll wear it like this from now on.”
“Will I see you later?”
“You better!” She gazed around the room to check if they were being watched, intending to kiss him, but thought better of it. “1930 hours?”
“I’ll pick you up on the dot,” he replied. “And then you can give me that kiss you just decided wouldn’t be appropriate in here. ‘Public display of affection’ and all that.” His smile was intended to tease as they moved to return to the table. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Sure. How about a lager.”
“Coming right up.”
Cooper returned to her fellow Marines while Scarecrow approached the bar and ordered her drink.
“You two are pathetic,” Hutch said in feigned disgust as he returned to his bowl of nuts.
“Jealous?”
“Not in the least,” Hutch replied. “I’m married to my bird. Human relationships are so messy.”
“Don’t knock it ‘till you’ve tried it,” Scarecrow said smiling as he left with Cooper’s beer.
Scarecrow placed his hand on Cooper’s shoulder in a loving gesture as he deposited the drink in front of her.
“Here you go, Major.”
“Thank you, Commander.” She smiled up at him and winked as she patted his hand, still resting on her shoulder. He smiled back before he left and returned to Hutch.
During their exchange, a young Marine lieutenant at the table remained quiet, observing everything.
Cooper sat and conversed with her Marine comrades for some time, enjoying the opportunity to fraternize with soldiers other than those in her company. As company commander aboard Nautilus, she was required to maintain a certain professional distance from her men, but these Marines provided the opportunity to socialize on a level not afforded her on a regular basis. After a period of enthusiastic exchange, she drained the glass on her third lager and stood.
“Well gentlemen, thank you for the conversation, but I must be off.”
Her new comrades tipped their glasses to her as she rose.
“Leaving so soon, Major?” the young lieutenant questioned. “Why not stay for another drink. We’ve still got plenty of time to kill before we arrive at Mars. Tell us more about your exploits.”
“I would love to, Lieutenant, but I have an appointment I must prepare for.”
“Does that appointment wear an SW flight suit?”
“As a matter of fact, he does, not that it’s any of your business.” Cooper, whose demeanor until now had been cordial, flashed an angry glare at the lieutenant. “Excuse me.” She turned and left.
“Careful,” a Marine captain said. “That one has fangs. She might just bite you in half.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” the lieutenant replied. “Maybe I should go and apologize to her.”
“Tread carefully,” the captain said over his shoulder as the lieutenant rose and hurried after Cooper.
“Major,” the lieutenant called after Cooper as she darted out the hatch. She turned and shot a cold look at him as he ran up to stand before her. He neglected to offer a salute, which incensed Cooper even more.
“I’m sorry if I offended you back there.” His smile appeared sympathetic, but Cooper was wary. Something about this jarhead set off a red flag in her mind.
“Apology accepted. Dismissed, Lieutenant.” She waited for him to salute and leave, but the lieutenant remained. She offered him a derisive huff and turned to leave herself, but he grasped her arm.
“Wait!”
Cooper spun and yanked her arm free, casting him an angry glare at his invasion of her person.
“I was just wondering,” he said. “I mean, why would you want to spend time with an SW pilot? A zoomie like that guy… when you could spend some quality time with a real man. A Marine.”
This young pup was creepy, Cooper thought as her suspicions were confirmed. She stared at him for a moment, a look of astonishment on her face. Then she burst into raucous laughter. The lieutenant was taken aback by her response.
“You?” she said. “A real man like you?” She straightened and spoke with full Marine authority, “That ‘zoomie,’ as you so undeservedly called him, singlehandedly took out a Behemoth class mother ship with nothing more than a TR-3B! What have you ever done Lieutenant, that would even come close to such a ‘Homeric’ feat?” She eyed him with disdain. “You’re still addicted to breast milk, Sie erbärmlich kleinen Wurm!” She crossed her arms and cocked her head to one side in defiance, staring at him, waiting for a response. It took a moment, but he smiled in his creepy, young lieutenant demeanor.
“You don’t have to be so bitchy, Major.” He wasn’t prepared to give up. “You could blow him off, and you and I could find a quiet place somewhere, perhaps your quarters, and I could show you just how superior a Marine really is to an SW pilot. In ways that don’t involve flying a TR-3B.” He grinned once more.
Cooper tensed and stared at the young buffoon with an incredulous gaze. He returned her look with a lecherous smirk. She glanced off to one side for a moment, waiting for a pair of officers to pass them. Once they were out of earshot, Cooper batted her eyelashes, looked back and offered an alluring smile.
For a split second, the young lieutenant thought he might actually have a chance with the striking blonde Marine major. His imagination flashed with the thoughts of the prestige, the downright awe he would receive from his comrades when he shared how he’d bedded Nautilus’s Marine company commander.
Cooper arched her back in a coquettish, sex-kitten sort of way as she leaned in, her mouth barely an inch from his ear.
“Now you’ve crossed the line,” she whispered as she pulled back and glanced down at the name tag on his combat utility blouse. “Lieutenant … Watson. And I’m going to have a little chat with your CO before you disembark.” She glared at him with a mixture of anger and disgust as she spun on her heel and strode off.
The lieutenant, true to his character, stared after her, watching her hips sway back and forth as she stormed down the passageway. Watson attempted to process what had just happened.
His countenance morphed from puzzlement to spite as he stole after her.
A Marine sergeant entered the enlisted mess and scanned the noisy confusion until he spotted who he was searching for. He wove over to a table where two Marines were devouring their chow.
“Lieutenant Watson wants to see you,” he said. “He’s waiting for you in the passageway.” With that he turned to make his way to the chow line.
The Marines looked at each other and continued to gulp down their meals.
“Now!” the sergeant said over his shoulder. The pair jumped to their feet and headed for the hatch.
“How would you two like to help me teach a bitchy major a lesson?” the lieutenant said in a hushed tone.
“What bitchy major?” one of them, a corporal, replied wiping his mouth as he spoke.
“Some blonde hottie I met in the officers’ club just now.”
“What lesson are we gonna teach her?” the other, a private, asked.
“You know, like that red-headed butterbar last year,” the corporal replied as he shoved the private’s shoulder.
Understanding flashed across the private’s face. “Oh … yeah! Okay, I’m in!”
“Alright, but we gotta move quickly,” the lieutenant said. “She had several beers in the O-club, so she’s gonna need to use the head, and soon. I followed her to her office. She’s probably filing a report against me right now.”
“What did’ya do? Say sumthin’ to rile her?” the corporal asked.
“I just told her what she needed to hear, but she wouldn’t listen to me, so that’s why we need to teach her a lesson.”
The two subordinates smiled and nodded.
“There’s only one women’s head between her office and the Marine officer’s quarters, so if we hurry, we can get there and hide out before she ducks in to relieve herself on her way back to her stateroom.”
“What if she doesn’t use the head?” the private asked. “What if she just goes straight to her stateroom?”
“Trust me, she’ll use the head. Now let’s go before we miss our opportunity!”
Major Cooper strode down the passageway to her quarters, still fuming over her encounter with the young upstart, Watson. She could have waited until she got to her stateroom, but since it was right there, she decided to duck into the head and deal with her growing discomfort. She passed through the hatch and strode down to the stalls at the far end. She opened the door to the center stall and was shocked to find a male Marine private sitting on the toilet in a most nonchalant manner. He looked up at her as she stopped and stared at him with astonishment.
“Whiskey tango foxtrot, Private?” she said. “This is the women’s head. And officer’s country. What do you think you’re doing?”
“Hello, Major Bitch.” The private ignored Cooper’s query as his smile re-enforced his defiance.
While Cooper was preoccupied with the private, Lieutenant Watson slipped out of the adjacent stall, and unbeknownst to her, crept up behind her. Then, as quick as a serpent strike, he shot his arm around the front of her right elbow, across her back to her left elbow, engaging it with a firm grip, locking her arms behind her. He yanked the major out of the stall and leaned back against the bulkhead as he clamped his other hand over her mouth. Then he smiled as he looked over Cooper’s shoulder to stare at her in triumph. His companions came out of their respective stalls to join him in his assault.
“You should’ve listened to me earlier, Major,” Watson said as he gloated. “We could’ve had some fun together.
“Now we have to do this the hard way.”