Solarian Down

The dinner was good and Benjamin was funny. Lenaga could almost forget the nightmare she just went through. When Ben decided to go get them coffee she decided the armor needed to come off. She could wear it for days when she needed to but that didn’t mean it was comfortable.

She unbuckled her utility belt and placed it on the table. Then she removed the pieces of armor and set them on the floor next to Grumpy. She was bent over removing her armor’s boots when Ben returned to the table. She could hear him set the cups down and take a seat.

“Did y…”

She removed the last boot and turned around in her black skinsuit to face him. She could tell he’d been staring at her rump. Now his eyes slowly raised from her crotch passed her stomach and froze on her full breasts. She put her hands on her hips and waited.

She eventually lost her patience. She extended her right hand into his line of sight before snapping her fingers a few times.

“Huh?!” He looked at her face instantly. “S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S”

She nodded with a raised eyebrow and sat back down.

“S S S S S S S S S S Sorry.”

She looked at the cup of black liquid. “What is this again?”

Ben made a face. “Coffee?” She nodded. “Some p p people like it w w with shu shu sugar a a and cream.” He watched as she took a sip and her eyes got big as her eyebrows went up. “L Little strong?”

“Yes.”

He handed her a bowl of sugar with a spoon. “T T Try a couple sp spoonfuls.” She stirred that in and took another sip. She tilted her head to the side in a half shrug. “O O OK, try some cr cr creamer.” He handed her a small packet that she opened before dumping it in and stirring.

She took another sip. “Mm. Yes, Very nice.”

“N N Now f f for the best p part.” He smiled as he handed her another packet as he dumped an identical one into his coffee and stirred it in.

“What is this?”

His smile became even brighter. “ Co Co Cocoa powder.”

He was almost childlike as he took a sip and smiled and laughed to himself. Lenaga added the cocoa to her coffee and stirred.

When she took a sip, “Oh my goodness, Benjamin! That is decadent!”

“Y Yeah.” He smiled.

After several minutes of silence Lenaga was a little surprised when he spoke. “So are y you g going to t t tell me whatever it is th that you’re n n not telling me?” Lenaga took another sip. “B B Because I c c couldn’t help but notice y y y y y you…” Benjamin closed his eyes, took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. He kept his eyes closed as he continued. “...you and your friends have the same uniforms and haircut and odd kind of ears.” Benjamin opened his eyes in time to see Lenaga reach up and feel her right ear as if she didn’t know it was odd. “You also d d don’t know what coffee is?”

She licked her lips in thought. The haircut WAS obvious. The Warden’s Arm were required to have the backs and sides of their heads cut short and tapered up. “Have you ever heard of the Luthiel?”

He seemed to be thinking as he stared at the table. “Is it German?”

She smiled. “No... We are alien.”

“Oh!” He nodded. “Th Th That’s why your ears are w weird.”

“There is nothing wrong with my ears!” She said as she felt of both ears as if to make sure. When she saw him laughing she dropped her hand along with her good humored expression. “Very funny.”

“I’m s s sorry.” He laughed.

She looked at him.”Your people are calling us elves.” He gave an understanding shrug. She gave him an exasperated look in return. “How can you a agree with that? I have seen pictures of elves from your culture. We look just like you and we do NOT have pointy ears.”

“No, b b but they look l l like they want to point.” He smiled.

She felt her ears one last time. It was true. Her people had a little more flesh at the top of their ears and it did taper a bit before it rounded over. She dropped her hand and sagged in defeat. “Anyway, four years ago our people bumped into each other.”

Ben nodded. “How l l long before some S S S Solarian asshole started a w war?”

“How did..?”

He shrugged. “K K K Kickin ass is all we do r r really well. So of course w w we feel we have to d d do it all the t time.”

Lenaga smiled and spent the next half hour giving him the highlights of the war. From the initial discovery of each other around an obscure livable planet. To battle after battle of stalemates. Lenaga Stopped only when Ben got up to refill their coffees. The Luthiel had better technology but the humans had a better sense for battle.

When she was done she asked, “So, how did you end up here?”

“Mmmm I do s s salvage work and YES that m means I scavenge s s sometimes. Anyway, there was a c conflict between some pirates and the M Martian M Marshal’s service. B B Big b b battle and I caught w word of it over the comms. Things had b been a little tight so I folded to the per per periphery of the fight. It was turning into a massive nightmare but I could see some prizes just outside of the c c combat zone. I decided to risk sneaking in there w w when I caught a g g glancing explosion off the side of my sh ship. M More m missiles were coming so I folded out of there. UNFORTUNATELY that g g glancing b blow did something to my Space Folder Engine and I unfolded h here. I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE THE HELL I AM!.. The f f folder b blew and took my thrusters with it and I w waited two days for Ice hole’s gravity to p p pull me in. That at least gave m m me the time I needed to redirect power to the gravpads so I c could overpower them. I w w w was able to m make them push out 300% of their n n n n n normal output.” He stopped to take a breath and let it out. “Which meant my crash landing was m more l l landing and l l less crash. Thank you, God.

“Very lucky for me you were here.”

“I l like you Len Len Lenaga but I c c could’ve done w with a little less l luck on your part.”

She nodded and smiled.

When they finished the coffee he asked, “You r ready for b bed?”

“Yes.” She stretched her arms above her head. “Where do I sleep?”

Ben shrugged. “I only h h have the w w one bed.” He smiled.

“But then where would you sleep?” She asked flatly.

He nodded. “Yeah, it was w worth a shot.”

He began clearing another shelf near her men and prepared it with skins to make a third bed for her. Once it was done he showed her where the bathroom was. She was happy to see he had fashioned a shower with hot water. Then he went into the shuttle to sleep on the lower level of the craft. It had been a long day so sleep came easy.

Her dreams however were not easy. Her friends were crying and dying and there was screaming. Benjamin was laughing at her and the walls were covered in bleeding snow. And through it all she was stuck in place unable to help or run away. And she wanted to run away so badly. She fought with all she had to try and get free. She fought until she realized she had kicked off her fur blankets and was sitting up in bed.

Benjamin was cooking breakfast and it smelled great.

She rubbed her face to wake up. Eventually Lenaga picked a clean skinsuit out of her supplies and a hygiene kit. Then went to use the bathroom and take a shower.

“That smells good.” She smiled when she walked into the shuttle after her shower.

“Oh!” Benjamin jumped a little before smiling over his shoulder at her. “Th Thanks. It’s all all almost ready. How’d you sleep?”

She took a deep breath and let it out. “Not good.” She said brightly with a smile.

“I I’m sorry. W W Was the shelf unc c comfortable?”

“No. It was great.” She shook her head. “I had some bad dreams.”

“Well,” He nodded. “You have been th th through a lot.” She nodded. “W Wanna t talk about it?”

“No. I want to forget about it.”

“Fine.” He smiled at her. “Th Then you c can help with br br break f fast,”

“Drinks?” She motioned to the punch box.

“Mm hm,” He nodded as be began to plate the last steak and scrambled eggs.

“Why punch?” She asked as she set the cups down before taking a seat.

He jerked his thumb at the ship. “Rations come w with different f f fruit juices in em. J Just add water. Easier to just m mix em a all together.” She nodded as Benjamin bowed his head and mumbled to himself.

“What is this?” She pointed to the yellow mound of crumbly on her plate.

“Eggs! Well, instant anyw way. It t tastes kind of like the r r real thing, Full of n nutrients and pr pro pr protein.”

She had a bite and it wasn’t bad which led to her asking what an “egg” was. Which led to a long conversation about Solarian foods. Something Benjamin obviously enjoyed.

And missed.

Benjamin was also very interested in Luthiel cuisine. Lenaga explained that she enjoyed good food but she was no expert on the subject. That being said she gave as much detail as she could about her favorite foods. The cultures that created them. As well as some history.

It was almost lunch time when a loud roar emanated from behind the door leading to the garage.

“What - was - that?”

“W W What was w what?” Benjamin replied as he took a sip of coffee. Another moaney kind of roar came from behind the door. Lenaga’s left eyebrow rose as she intimated with her head at the door. “Oh, that!”

“Yes.”

“That is Frank. He’s pro probably hungry.” He said as he stood up and went to the meat storage closet to get a large chunk of gorilla.

“You said you were alone.” She asked as she followed him to the door and then turned away from the garage and went down the other side of the hall. He opened the door to reveal a hallway cut out of the ice with more fur covering the floor. Another roar met their ears. “What is a Frank?”

“Polar bear d dog.” He led her down the hall to an ice cave. They passed through two more metal doors. Although there was a third one between those doors to her left that they passed. She would have to ask him about that later. After entering the second door she could see they were in an ice cave.

“The d d doors are to keep the c cold out.” He stated as he shut the last one.

A few meters from the door was a long floor to ceiling wall made of gorilla bone. In it was a small hole of a viewport barely big enough for a man to climb through. On the far end was a doorway of metal with a metal crossbar to lock it.

Lenaga knew from her studies of Solaria what a polar bear was. And she knew what a dog was. And sure enough on the other side of the wall sat a… polar bear dog. Whining for something. Lenaga watched as Benjamin threw the giant steak through the window to land in front of Frank. The bear looked at the steak then back at Benjamin before it whimpered.

“Y Y You spoiled bastard!” Benjamin yelled.

Lenaga tried but failed to keep from laughing. Frank was showing the biggest saddest eyes she had ever seen. Benjamin huffed before walking to a tall locker near the door. He pulled out a couple of thin wrapped wafers about 8 inches long and 4 inches wide.

“What is that?”

“Ch Chocolate bars. He’s addicted to em.” He said as he handed her one and unwrapped the other before tossing it to Frank. The bear snapped the bar out of the air and gleefully chomped on the treat. Benjamin looked at her. “Go ahead try it.”

She unwrapped it and took a nibble. “Mmm! This tastes like melleduz!” Benjamin’s eyebrows rose. “Exact same flavor but white.” He smiled as she was obviously enjoying it. “You have more of this?” She asked excitedly.

“And n now she’s ad ad addicted.” He said emotionless to Frank. He looked back at Lenaga as she continued to savor the chocolate and shook his head. “I have a t ton of the st st stuff. P P People will always trade for c candy bars. S So I always have p plenty on hand.” He smiled.

They watched as the great bear finished his candy and moved on to the steak.

“Why do you have him, Benjamin?”

“You -can- c call me “Ben.” You kn know?”

“Sorry. In my culture you do not shorten people’s names until they say you can, -Ben-.”

Ben nodded and then looked back at Frank. He shrugged before saying. “N Not sure why I g got him. I thought he w would be a g good form of alternate transpor por portation, but now?” He shrugged again. “I think I w was just lonely.”

Frank was a wild animal so he did not come up to get petted before he went into a fur filled corner to rest after his meal. Lenaga could see there was an exit to the cave that seemed to bend before going outside.

“He can leave whenever he wants?”

“He’s n not a pet.” He said as he headed back inside.

He took a moment to show her that door. Inside was a machine shop along with the machines to clean laundry.

Lenaga had never been particularly good at cooking. She realized long ago that her mother had spoiled her. But now, she thought it would be nice. So she worked at taking instruction from Ben on the subject when lunch time came.

Thankfully this was just reheating a chicken curry dish from the rations. She was quite pleased with her efforts once she took a bite. But she was very pleased when Ben gave her a nod of approval after he had tasted it.

“So, is there anyone missing you at home?” She asked as they ate.

“Mm no, actually. That’s s s sad. Huh?”

She looked surprised.

He shrugged. “My p parents p passed some years ago and I w w wasn’t seeing anyone. No siblings. I mean, I do have a l l lot of friends. They’re p probably p pretty worried. W W Well, not now b but I’m sure they w w were.”

That answer wasn’t what she’d expected. They sat and ate in silence for moment.

“W W What about you? Anyone at home?”

Her eyebrows went up. “Uh, yes, actually. My mother and father. A large extended family of cousins, aunts and uncles as well as many friends.”

He smiled. “That w wasn’t really w what I m m meant.”

She was confused for a moment. “Oh!” She laughed when she realized what he was talking about. “No. No one special is waiting for me.”

“R R Rrrriiigght.” He said as he took a dubious sip of punch.

“What!?” She smiled.

“Y You sit there l l lookin like that…” He emphasized her form with his fork. “By all accounts a h h happy little elf.” Her head cocked to the side as she squinted perturbed at him. “Fr From your perky little blond hair to your p perky attitude AND b b brains too and you t t t tell me no one has c caught you? Come on.”

She sighed as she looked down at her plate and stirred her food with her fork. “I did not say some did not try.” She looked up to see he was really interested. She sighed a laugh. “I have had a few relationships.”

“But?”

“...Men lie.” She stared at him like it was his fault. “WHY do you always lie?”

Ben laughed. “I g guess it would d d depend on the r reason. What d did they l lie about?”

She gave and exasperated shrug. “You are the only one for me... It was not me, baby... I - am - not - married.” Was my personal favorite.”

Ben cackled.

“It is not funny!” She smiled.

“No. No it isn’t.” He tried to stop laughing. “I’m… I I I’m sorry.”

She gave him a moment to get control of himself as she picked through her food. “Are you married, Ben?” She asked in a very direct manner as she looked up from her food.

“If I was married,.. we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” He said before finishing his drink.

She nodded as she absentmindedly bit her bottom lip. She wanted to be embarrassed when she realized it. But she kept thinking about how interested Ben seemed. Her self control got the better of her as she shook herself a little and volunteered to clean up the dishes.

“I can’t be acting like this. I’ve only known him two days.” She thought. “I wonder what he would look like without all of that crazy hair and beard?.. Something I would have thrown myself at like a wanton, most likely.”

“Anything you w wanted to d d do today?”

“Yeah. I can think of a few things.” She thought. “Umm, we really need to go back to the crash site and have a look at that pirate shuttle that exploded.”

“...Th Th Th The what?”

She turned and looked at him. He appeared concerned. “The pirate shuttle.” He shook his head like he had no idea what she was talking about. “The large scorched chunk of metal about a hundred meters from the rear of my vessel?”

“I th thought th that was just th the rear of your sh sh ship.”

She shook her head. “No. The pirate ship that destroyed my craft sent a shuttle to finish us off.” He nodded his understanding. “I shot one if them but then the whole thing just blew up.”

He nodded again. “I’ll get the sl sled ready.”