Chapter 190: Eno Goes Yellowstone and Sheloran Gets a BIG Surprise

Chapter 190: Eno Goes Yellowstone and Sheloran Gets a BIG Surprise

Humming a happy tune, Gloria skipped into the ship's maintenance area.

"Hi, Chief," she said in a cute cheerful voice.

"Hi, Gloria," the chief replied as he waved one of his wide, leathery, frond-like hands. "Still have no idea what your ship is made out of."

"Me neither," Gloria giggled (giggled!), "But I'm here for something else. Do you have any titanium plate lying around?"

"I have some on the rack," the chief replied as he reached for his plasma cutter. "How much do you need."

"Oh, don't go cutting our stock," she said happily, "Do you have any off-cuts or anything?"

"How big?"

"I'm not picky," Gloria chirped, "Something about like this," she added, gesturing with her hands.

"This work?" the chief said as he rooted around a little and pulled out a dinner tray sized piece of Titanplate.

"That's perfect!" Gloria purred as she accepted the piece of armor plating and tucked it under her arm. "Thanks, Chief!"

She happily skipped away.

After she left, the intercom light switched on.

"You just gave it to her?" Bunny asked dubiously.

"You're goddamn right I did!" the chief replied as he returned to what he was doing, "I'm not feeling especially suicidal at the moment."

He winced. He should NOT have said that.

"Have you been feeling suicidal of late?" Bunny asked.

"No, Bunny," he sighed, "I have NOT been feeling remotely self-harmy at all!"

"I only ask because I care," Bunny replied, "well, that and because—"

"I TOLD you that temporary restriction of a Kalesh's oxygen intake prolongs and increases the intensity of orgasms! I was just harvesting tubers, you invasive FUCK! I was holding a dead man's switch and everything! Would you PLEASE just drop it!"

"Ok," Bunny replied, "but you know that if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here."

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" the chief exclaimed. "How about you just watch me jerk off like you always do and raise the alarm if my vitals get too low?"

"Deal!" Bunny exclaimed cheerfully, "I'll even help if you want me to!"

"What?!?"

Bunny burst out into laughter.

"Not funny!" the chief laughed because it was, in fact, funny.

"Seriously though," Bunny said, "you could add wireless to that dead man's switch..."

"That actually wouldn't be a bad idea," the chief mused. "Creepy as fuck, but a not a bad idea."

"Just think of it as a (snerk) helping hand."

They both howled with laughter for a moment.

"Hey, Bunny?"

"Yeah, Chief?"

"Do you have any idea what Gloria has planned for that titanium plate?"

"Not a clue," Bunny replied, "but I am recording every second of this!"

"Put up a holo," the Chief said as he pulled out an omni-meter.

***

Sheloran curled up on the deck, paralyzed by shock and misery.

Gloria was so mean...

but she was right. Every horrifying word was absolutely correct

The dead/not dead woman was right.

"I know she's right," Sheloran muttered, "Shut the poop up."

She looked over at the cicadas.

They spent eight years hiding in the soil, safely asleep as they grew, and then took wing, their form whole and complete, their ultimate destiny met in the barest flicker of time.

Then, even more peace.

She envied them.

She envied them so much.

Choose!!!

"Oh, go jump in a pond," she muttered.

***

"Sheloran," Eno said in a compassionate voice as he walked around the corner. "I brought you some food. I thought you might—"

He froze as he saw Sheloran curled up, motionless...

His eyes latched onto the bag.

Cicadas!!!

Eno finally went Yellowstone.

***

Gloria sauntered into the galley where Mike and Lorna were sitting together, as they always did.

Lorna was feeding Mike pudding.

"Aww," Gloria sneered, "here comes the shuttle..."

"Fuck you, Gloria," Mike said as he opened wide.

"Jealous?" Lorna smirked.

"Oh, wherever will I find someone to—"

" Gloria!!!" Eno bellowed as he charged into the room like an enraged gorilla, balled up one of his massive fists...

And unleashed a lethal, bone-crushing—

KaCrunchSplat

He howled in pain as Gloria peeked from behind the titanium slab held between her two hands.

She smiled...

Her arms shot outward, driving the flat plate into Eno's face, followed by a brutal kick to his balls.

He started to double over.

Another kick to his knee sent him to the floor, no longer sure which injury to clutch in agony anymore.

"And that's (kick) why...(kick)... you (kick) don't hit (kick) girls!!!"

Kick... kick... kick... (pause)... kick... brutal kick after brutal kick was precisely applied.

"Um, Gloria?" Lorna said as she cautiously approached.

Gloria looked up happily.

"One sec," she smiled.

She raised her leg, angling the heel of her boot downward...

" Samuels!"

Sheila's voice boomed over the intercom and echoed down the hall.

"Stand. Down."

Gloria shrugged.

She looked at the bloody mess at her feet and sneered.

"You just got lucky," she said.

"And you two just stood there?!?" Sheila demanded.

"What the fuck did you want us to do about it?" Lorna demanded. "I am NOT going up against either of those fuckers unless I got a green light!"

"Jacob!" Sheila's voice echoed across the entire ship, "First aid needed in the galley. Gloria! Go to your quarters and stay there!"

"Jacob, let me know the second that stupid fuck is stable!... Gah!"

The halls fell silent.

"Eno?" Sheloran said as she wandered into the room, clutching a bag of cicadas, "why did you run..."

"Eno!" she cried out as she rushed to him.

She looked around the room in shock and confusion.

"What happened to him?"

"Gloria," Lorna said quietly, "Gloria happened to him."

”Hisssssssssssssss...”

Sheloran crouched over Eno, her eyes starting to glow.

"Well, this should be fun," Gloria smiled happily as she dropped into a fighting stance.

"Oh, for FUCK'S SAKE!" Sheila shouted over the intercom.

***

"I have fucking HAD it!" Sheila shouted as she paced the galley/mess hall in front of the entire ship.

"We haven't been stuck on this ship for that long, and we are at this point?" she snarled.

That evening Sheloran lay in her bunk staring at the ceiling.

She couldn't sleep.

Everything, every truth that Gloria had told her just played over and over...

Over and over...

She wondered if this was what Gloria's life was like, just fifty million times worse.

She couldn't imagine what that would be like.

You will find out soon enough...

"Now you are just trying to be mean," Sheloran replied, "and I'm too tired to give a poop."

The intrusive thought evaporated... for all the good it did.

She rolled around and clutched at one of her pillows.

I wish Craxina was here, she thought.

She chuckled. Who would have thought she would desperately want someone to cling to, some warmth, some contact, just the simple basic comfort of someone nearby to ease her into much needed slumber.

She hugged her pillow tightly. It helped...

But nowhere near enough.

***

An hour later, Eno was also staring at the ceiling.

Disenrolled...

He felt a lump in his throat.

Dishonorable Discharge...

He'd been here before... and it didn't feel any better the second time around. He had finally found a unit... found honor... found pride...

He could hold his head high, once again a member of something special, something elite...

Something better than himself, what he really was...

A tear trickled down his cheek.

Why didn't he just... ask. He could have just asked Sheloran. He could have asked Bunny! She would have known... and would have raised the alarm if anything close to what he thought happened actually did.

He should have known it wasn't what he thought, but once again, he didn't think.

He stopped 'thinking' years ago when the bug were cutting down people, soldiers and xeno alike. He didn't have time, and if he did, there was no way he could charge out there again and again...

And when he got his hands on one of those... things...

He didn't have to think about that either...

He let out a strangled sob.

He couldn't lose everything again! He couldn't lose another unit, another team... Not again...

He would rather die! He could...

There was a quiet knock at the door, interrupting a very dangerous line of thought.

He opened the door to reveal Sheloran, still clutching her pillow, clad in one of Gloria's t-shirts, now pressed into service as a nightgown.

"Sheloran?" he asked, "What are... Do... Do you need something? Are you feeling ill?"

"No," she said, looking down and twisting her foot, "It's... I can't sleep."

"Welcome to the club," he said, "But I'm not sure if I have anything that would work or work safely. I could check."

"No, it's..." Sheloran stammered, "It's stupid, never mind."

She turned to leave.

"What is it?" Eno asked, "If I can help, please, let me help at least someone today."

"I'm..." Sheloran said, clearly embarrassed, "I'm not used to sleeping alone anymore... Not like that!" she squeaked at Eno's shocked expression, "I mean sleep. I've had Craxina living with me for so long, and keeping her out of your bed is impossible... I guess I sort of got used to it? And today was so rough I just... I need... want I mean..."

Eno just shrugged. Maybe it would help. It's not like he was actually simping for her, not physically.

He just smiled.

"Sure," he shrugged, "I had a custom bed installed. There is plenty of room."

They climbed into bed together and Sheloran nestled in close, clutching his arm.

It wasn't long before she fell asleep.

He looked over at her and smiled.

You know, he thought, This isn't that bad. It's kind of nice.

There was something about her that was just... soothing.

As he rapidly started to join her in much needed rest, he thought about what the crew would say if/when they saw her leave his quarters.

It didn't matter. He was already so deep in the shit he couldn't really get any deeper without getting thrown out of an airlock.

I mean, what's the worst that could happen?

***

The next morning Sheloran awoke happier and more rested than she had been since the morning before the Drop of Oil burned.

She felt wonderful.

She pulled herself in closer and laid her arm over Eno...

And touched something...

something big...

something where it definitely was not supposed to be!

Her eyes flew open.

Eno had a massive erection, bigger than any she had the misfortune of accidentally witnessing back at the Drop.

Squeaksquealing in horror, she leaped from the bed, clutching the sheets around her.

"Wha?" Eno said as he awoke, "What?"

"You... want that..." Sheloran squeaked, "With me?!?"

"What?" Eno said, now fully awake and trying to process. "What do you mean wan—"

He looked down.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed, "No! It's not like that. It's just something that happens when—"

"I know exactly when it happens!!!" Sheloran squeaked, flailing at the door, which started to open.

Squeezing through the still opening door, Sheloran fled into the hall, clutching the sheets around her, completely obscuring her improvised nightgown.

"Sheloran!" Eno called out, putting his pillow over his erection as he stepped into the hall, "Wait!"

***

Mike and Lorna were, once again, in the galley.

Lorna was cooking breakfast.

"Something smells good," Gloria said as she walked in wearing a pair of shorts and a halter top.

Mike and Lorna looked at each other dubiously.

"Make me some?"

"I don't know," Lorna replied, "You gonna earn these eggs the same way Mike did?"

"Sure," Gloria said as she plopped down next to Mike, "you wanna spread them right here, or you wanna—"

Sheloran sprinted past the open doorway, clutching a sheet around her...

The trio fell silent, looking at each other.

"Sheloran!" Eno's voice echoed down the hall.

"Did..." Mike said after a moment, "Did we all just see that?"

"Yep," Lorna replied.

"Sheila is right," Gloria said with pure delight, "this ship is going straight to hell... or at least Eno is."

She looked up.

"Hey, Bunny."

All Bunny could do was laugh over the intercom.

***

Sheila, in her grey boxers and "Army" t-shirt, opened the door to her quarters with a bit of reluctance.

Yesterday sucked.

Yesterday sucked bad... but...

Some weird fucked up dynamics finally broke and did so with minimal damage.

Gloria had even been surprisingly merciful. She was expecting far, far worse.

She also was able to address some rather disturbing and potentially dangerous trends with the crew.

Maybe, just maybe... things might—

Sheloran, appearing to be clad only in a sheet, bolted past.

Sheila stood there for a moment.

"Nope!" she shouted, turned around, closed the door behind her, and went back to bed.