“Sail ho!” Jake rose through layers of unconsciousness to wake in Lt. Wil-Kait’s bed. The cry had been very distant to normal ears, but Jake had been expecting it. His AIA, Mind had reported on a ship gaining on them over the last hour.
There had been nothing to do about it, so he just stayed where he was, lapsing into a meditative state akin to sleep, letting his body continue the completion of its own recovery. By now he’d been consciously linked to his body which he now saw as a assort of mobile living breathing space ship whose systems were under his indirect command.
He had decided that, however fully functional his golem body now was, all systems nominal, he needed to keep up a very lean, gaunt appearance. So too, his skin remained a sun burnt dark tan, from which his grey eyes startled with their pale hue.
Hearing footsteps outside the cabin door, Jake slipped out from behind the young Lightenant, willing his erect cock to go down.
A knock on the door roused the small ship’s captain who sat up, and turned to see his Lord Par standing there, naked one leg bent to accommodate the slant of the healing deck.
“Sail sighted, Wil,” Par said and I believe they're about to knock to tell you.”
Will looked around at the door just as a diffident knock sounded on it.
“Come in.”
The cabin door swung in and Mid Ruth-Right poked his handsome swarthy head in, darkeyes darting around. “Sirs, sail sighted astern of us two miles back.”
With a glance at me Wil-kait nodded, “Call all hands to breakfast, grab a bit of food yourself and then hit your bunk for a few hours, and tell Mister Moss the same. Is Mr. Lee up?”
“Aye Sir, he was up an hour ago. He’s the one that spotted the sail at dawn from the mast head, Sir.”
“Very well.”
The Midshipman was distractedly ogling Par, and Wil-kait cleared his throat. “Dismissed?”
The young man started and with hasty, “Aye Sir,” left them. When the Midship closed the door, Wil-kait looked over at Lord Par and pursed his lips looking what he thought of as a junior peer of the realm, admiringly.
“Your still far too thin, My Lord, but beautiful and endowed well enough to make any man who appreciates their own sex drool. I dare say Mr. Right didn’t want to take his lecherous eyes off you.”
Bit’s the cabin boy arrived and swiftly assisted his captain with his uniform before turning to Par.
“I’ll join you in a moment or two.” Par told the Lightenant.
Bit’s laid out his worn borrowed Lightenant uniform, and Par was delighted to see the white leggings had been cleaned as had a pair of socks for the deck boots. Fully, dressed, he joined wil-kait in the small dining cabin for grilled fish strips over shreds of potato cooked in oil and viniger. That and a lemon squeezed into tea, was his breakfast.
Wil-kait wolfed down his food and looked wrestles as Par who knew precisely how close the enemy was, ate at a more leisurely pace, taking his time, as, simple as the fare was it was still far better than food aboard spaceships.
Finally, he just chuckled, “Captain Kait. I believe the needs of your ship’s preparations outweigh the curtesy of keeping me company. Please, man, go to”
Wil-kait flashed a relieved smile. “Thank you, Sir.”
Par took his time with breakfast, until “Mind reported”.
Second ship, likewise, flying the Zorath Imperial flag has entered mini drone 4’s perimeter. Sub drone 4 on course to intercept.”
Par/Jake glanced over the internal graph of ship icons, distances, speeds and their own relative position on the approach to the entrance and relative safety of Nor Bay.
He quickly rejoined Wil-kait on deck. “K-meters t ogo before we sight Nor. Slightly more than an hour and that ship will be in range not much later than that.”
“Aye and we’ll need to round Anvil rock shoal, then it’s a tack against the wind to get to the entrance and another tack to reach the protection of the North Point Pulterry.”
“I suspect we will have another enemy ship patrolling up wind of that.”
“Surely, they wouldn’t. That would be the start of a blockade. It would be war.”
“There are shades of blockades and shades of war, and all with diplomatic fog mucking it up.” Par said.
Wil-kait slumped against the rail he held onto as his ship slashed through the seas, already on an increasingly tight close-hauled trim as they approached the Isle of Nor.
“I’ve grown up with the threat of the Empire, but it was different, distant. Now, wherever one looks there they are, pushing their claims prodding and pushing. Will there be an end to it.”
Par reached out and patted the young man’s far broad shoulder half hugging he young man.
“I am afraid things will be far worse before they are better. But the Empire must be stopped.”
Wil-kait nodded and squeezed Par’s shoulder back.
