Regan's Reach 4: Avarice (16 page)

It was also nice that they seemed to like
her and she found the attentions of the mainly male complement had been
flattering. While they understood her role as Commander and respected it, it
seemed relationships between crew and command on a passenger liner were much more
relaxed than on Earth; in fact she rather enjoyed the familiar attentions of
the males. She made it clear she had no intention of interfering with their
work or that of Lucas as ship AI - provided everything flowed smoothly. They
knew their work and their responsibilities and it was understood that Lucas
would monitor everything on her behalf. They relaxed at that and had embraced her;
it was good.

"Charlie, if we're going down to the
flight deck we could take a route that takes in those refuse corridors."
Hilary's voice came gently and with it a route map appearing in the upper left
vision, her preferred side.

"No point in delaying then." She
stepped to the door which opened with a swish.

The moving traffic was considerably thinner
than usual with many having left for the flight deck early to secure the best
vantage points. Charlotte allowed herself to be swept along before diverting
off toward the refuse area on Hilary's prompt. Suddenly she found herself alone
and she slowed, looking back toward the doorway which had closed. A slight
shiver passed through her and it occurred that this was the first time she had
been alone since arriving onboard, other than when in her cabin.

"Are you there Lucas?"

"Of course ma'am - always."

The voice had a slight servile tone with
unnecessary emphasis on the 'ma'am' so she chose to ignore it, instead scanning
the corridor for lenses. "Camera's Lucas - how do you record things and
where from?"

"The makeup of the base material for
the ship abounds with something like your fiber optics but operating at a
molecular level. This allows for two way flow of information at the nano level
so I can follow everything happening on ship and around the outer hull at times,
and from any angle. It also means I can display information on any surface of
the vessel. I – am - omnipresent." He said it with a flourish.

"But not in the areas around refuse,"
she replied, ". . . at the time of the murder."

There was an embarrassing pause.

"No." Lucas was crisp.

She frowned, looking around at the walls
and ceiling and imagining how many potential views there should be. "How
can that be possible, I mean, do your systems show anything has been deleted;
or are there faults in your memory perhaps?"

"Well of course there's a gap, I have
nothing for that whole period, from the hour before and after the discovery of
Commander Juno's body. There is nothing for this corridor or the two others
into this area or the refuse area itself . . ." the voice trailed away.

"But . . . Lucas, I sense you're
holding something back?"

There followed a long hesitation during
which Charlotte resumed her walk toward the end of the corridor. When he
finally spoke his discomfort was obvious.

"Commander, all I can say is that while
I have no records, I retain the sense that I was there; it's an embarrassing
blank."

"Hmm, well maybe together we'll be
able to fill in those blanks; it couldn't just be denial could it?" But she
didn't wait for him to reply, leaving him to think about it. "I'd like to
view the refuse area please Lucas; I'll just pop my head in at this stage then
head to the flight decks for the game, could you guide me?"

"Of course." and immediately
lights appeared on the floor disappearing under the doors at the end of the
corridor. "And Charlotte, you called it murder; I'm sure the official
position is that it was suicide."

She paused in her step considering his
comment before continuing on. "Suicide, yes, I suppose it could be that
too."

The doors at the corridor end swished open
and she strode forward confidently following the floor lights, oblivious to the
watcher following her every step.

Standing in the refuse area Charlotte scanned
the room comparing the files she had reviewed earlier with what she could see.
Most refuse on vessel was consumed by the furnaces and only the little that
remained was dispatched to space. Difficult to burn objects would be ejected
via the tubes and although it was theoretically possible to climb into one, it
remained unclear how anyone could then trigger the ejection on their own. Of
course, as Lucas retained no record of the period when Juno made the great leap
it is possible that the Commander had somehow preprogrammed the ejection
himself. Charlotte felt this was unlikely however, given the Commander’s skills
were hardly up to outwitting a ship Mind.
So what did happen?

Continuing on to the only other door, which
was opposite, she hesitated again with a thought coming to her.

"Lucas, I'm going on to the football
match now, I should be seen to be there. For my review later could you gather
all visuals of the other corridors leading to and from this area please? The
ones you have I mean; I'd like them from one hour before your recordings stop and
for one hour after."

"It shall be done Commander."

"And for the period this area is
blanked out I'd like the visuals from the next corridors on. Have them for that
whole period too." 

"Charlie, that's a lot of visual to
review don't you think?" The words came via her earpiece and so gently
they were more an intrusion on her thoughts than anything spoken. Charlotte
hardly missed a beat.

"What are your thoughts Hilary?"
She whispered through her teeth.

"We could do with some help
perhaps?"

"You have someone in mind?"

"This is a large ship, there are a lot
of young people here with entertainment provided, and perhaps we might bring in
another, Regan's son Jared perhaps?"

"Are you serious? Isn't he only thirteen?
I hardly think he would add anything and I'm not interested in babysitting."

"Hmm, you haven't met Jared yet have
you?"

Charlotte waited a moment thinking, if
Hilary was suggesting it then probably it was a good idea. "I take it you
do think he would add something?"

"He is not unlike you in that he tends
to see things others miss - and he carries with him . . . other
strengths."

She continued her walk toward the flight
decks pondering the thought. "Well, I guess Regan will be here for the match;
I'll ask her about it when I see her."

She could hear the roar of the crowd well
before entering the flight deck proper, and the queue to enter did not look
promising. Charlotte wasn't exactly short but compared to the Coran's she felt
a midget. Shuffling forward with the stream it quickly became clear there was
no way she would be able to see anything over or between the bodies gathered
around the pitch. In fact it was only possible for her to look up and in doing
so she noticed a gantry walkway that was perched high up the walls surrounding
the deck. Squeezing her way across to the wall and then sidling along it she
came to a ladder giving access - and a sign - 'authorized personnel only'.
Well,
I am the Commander,
she thought.

Jumping to grasp the bottom rung she pulled
down a lower section and began the long climb to the gantry. It was higher than
it looked and by the time she had reached the top then pulled herself gingerly
through the small opening she was shaking like a leaf. Standing up, another
problem immediately presented itself; the walkway had a solid barrier that was
taller than her and would prevent seeing anything below. Looking to her right
she saw a crate and judged it could be perfect to stand on. Picking up the box she
walked left about halfway along and stopped where two pillars, about half a
meter apart, soared through the deck and up to the ceiling. Pushing between
them she placed the crate carefully and climbed up. It was perfect, giving her
an ideal view about half way along the pitch. Already others had followed her
lead, climbing up and shuffling along the walkway to find the best elevated
positions. In no time the gantry was full - and still they kept coming.

Charlotte could feel bodies shuffling
behind her with more and more squeezing into the confined space that ran the
length of the deck until eventually there was nowhere else to go. At that point
she became aware of a body pressed up behind her, and warm breath on her neck.

"I'm so sorry mistress, I can't move,
there is too much weight around me." The male voice was warm and friendly
but clearly embarrassed.

She could feel arms squeezing between her and
the pillars on both sides, and she could tell the person was attempting to brace
himself on the barrier, trying to give her space with room in front. It proved a
fruitless exercise once the game commenced as with play surging back and forth
the crowd on the gantry began to shift constantly from side to side, backwards
and forwards, forcing the man forward into her back - and she suddenly she could
feel something familiar, hardening between the mounds of her buttocks.
Oh my
god!

He felt her tense and knew immediately that
she noticed. "I'm so sorry mistress."

He didn't elaborate but she could feel him
shift uncomfortably, a move which only seemed to make the problem more obvious.
Despite her alarm, it felt good and she smiled at his dilemma. A wicked look
came to her face and she gently shifted to reposition the bulge between her
buttocks. He groaned. Then she began to shift, regularly timing her moves with
the roar of the crowd and delighting to feel the by now hard member stretching
up her back. This continued for some time with her own excitement building
until she looked skyward, took a moment to think, and then worked one hand back
behind her to cradle the man's length as if she was trying to shield herself. Instead,
with each surge she massaged until it was obvious what she was doing. He could
stand it no more. One arm left the railing and she could feel it wriggling
between them, undoing the front of his ship suit until there was nothing
between her hand and his body. With her other hand she reached up to the nub of
her suit, loosening the button and opening it to the waist. Immediately she felt
his hands reaching inside to stroke her breasts, all attempts to brace now gone
and all pretence abandoned. His weight pressed hard against her, clamping her
to the railing and then she felt him wriggling the hands higher, grasping at
the suit collar and peeling it downward. She considered struggling but by now
was swept up in the eroticism of the moment instead allowing the suit to drop
and assisting him in the limited space by pushing it down with her hands until
it puddled on the floor leaving her naked. With the pillars on the sides, the
barrier in front and the man wedged behind she was completely invisible to the
crowd behind and below, other than her head and the top of her shoulders which
would still be visible above the railing. She abandoned herself now, raising one
leg to brace it on a cross piece as she felt the man dipping slightly, probing
gently, and then without any hesitation, entering smoothly.
Oh my god!

Below, on the centerline, Marin nudged
Regan and pointed upward to the gantry where they could see Charlotte's head
and occasionally her bare shoulders bobbing up and down.

[Isn't that Charlie?] He subbed.

[It looks like her, but what on earth is
she wearing, it looks like some kind of off the shoulder number?]

[Does she know how this game is played?]
Marin was confused.

[I think so.]

[Well if she does its very strange; she
just cheered that opposition goal as if she was delighted.]

Then another roar from the crowd drew their
attention back to the game; they would catch up with the new Commander later.

The pressure from behind relaxed, with a
shift in the crowd creating some room and Charlotte leant her head forward on
the railing as she could feel the man withdrawing. She felt weak at the knees
and wobbled slightly, the twenty minutes of frenzied coitus having left her
sated and drained. The enormity of what she had just submitted to hit her and
for the first time she considered Hilary, and what she must have thought. Was
she even aware?

"Are you there Hil?" she
whispered through her lips.

"Of course I'm here, what was all that
about? My only view was of the floor."

"You mean you weren't aware . .
." Charlotte's voice trailed off but the sheepish sound was obvious.

Hilary missed nothing. "Hmm, aware of
the fact you disrobed with assistance, aware of your increased and fluctuating
heart rate building to a rather obvious peak - of the regular grunting from
behind and your squeals that seemed to be timed perfectly for the crowd action.
Or are you referring to your limited conversation during the last twenty or so
minutes . . . mainly occasional 'Oh my god's!"

"Enough Hilary, I'm sorry to put you
through that - I don't know what came over me and it won't happen again."
Bending forward as much as she was able in the confined space she stretched
down to reach the suit at her feet, the action causing her buttocks to again
press back into the person behind her. It was a struggle and it was soon made
more difficult by the sensation of being entered again from behind as the crowd
roared. "Oh shit . . . oh my god . . ."