eta #05: denial (I Can't Help You by Lob)
Title: I Can't Help You
Author: lob
Fandom: Starfighter by Hamletmachine
List: Eta #05 denial
Rating: Adult
Warning: Starfighter is an explicit adult webcomic which features m/m sex. With that in mind, I will be marking all entries as Adult (or even Explicit in some entries) even though this first entry is very tame. There is some adult language.
Summary: Abel wants info on Cain. Part 1/30
Disclaimer: Hamletmachine owns it all. I'm just building sandcastles with the Starfighter universe while I wait for the next awesome page to be posted
edited on Jan 18, 2011
Abel ignored the puzzled looks the other navigators gave him as he stood in the middle of the hallway. Cursing quietly, he vented his frustration of being denied even a tidbit of information about Cain by the Tiberius' fighter. The man didn't even care that he owed his life to Abel. His cooperation would have saved Abel time, effort and stress because asking other fighters or navigators about Cain was not an option. It would give a crew member too much leverage over him, and Abel had learned early in his life, after a most uncomfortable situation with a school mate, to avoid owing favors. Trust issues were a problem also.
Irritated by the impasse, Abel took a few deep breaths before making his way to the supply office where he could sign out a tablet computer. Navigators used the tablets to keep track of schedules, file reports and pass documents around, but tablets were also useful research tools. Abel had been raised in a household where -- according to his father's many dinner table lectures -- politics was the only game worth playing. His younger years had been filled with lessons in ways to ferret out information.
After waiting in line with a few other navigators, Abel stepped up to the supply officer's desk and asked for a tablet, swiping his hand over the scanner embedded in the desk top when the officer ordered him to do so. Abel thanked the officer upon receiving the tablet.
He returned to the hallway which was now extra busy as the scheduled meeting time drew closer. People were calling to each other as they congregated at the intersection of hallways that led to the briefing rooms. No one spoke to Abel or approached him.
He managed to find, after searching for a few minutes, a quiet alcove away from the main corridor. Dipping his finger into the small hip pocket of his uniform, he fished out a audio bud which he inserted into his right ear before extending the thin wire used to pick up his voice. He whispered his request to the tablet after a quick glance around to assure himself that nobody was close enough to listen in.
“Display all information on Cain, Red team fighter assigned to the Reliant."
“Age: 23 years. Time in service: five years. Stationed on Alliance Starbase 1138 for two months and three weeks. Weapons specialty: flight combat gunnery. Awarded top honors in hand to hand combat tournament held last month on Starbase 1138.”
“More,”he said.
“All other information is classified.”
“What the fuck?” Abel felt a chill run up his spine, making the back of his neck itch.
“Unclear. Please rephrase the question.”
Abel gritted his teeth. There was more information in his own profile and he had only been part of the Alliance for a year and a half. What had Cain been doing for those five years that he did not have any citations, awards or even disciplinary notes? It also intrigued him that Cain had only been on the starbase for about three months and Abel was his third navigator. Would Cain only tolerate someone who was the best like he was? With a frustrated tap on the screen, Abel cleared the meager responses he had received.
“Display information on all navigators in Red team with task name Abel in the last three months.”
Abel immediately recognized his own info, but nothing else was revealed. Had the commanders designated a different task code? Perhaps they had, yet everyone seemed to know his team partner by the task code Cain.
He would have to wave a white flag for now. If he kept asking for classified information or even tried to use his own clearance without a need to know, a security detail would be on his ass in no time, demanding to know what he was up to.
There was always the direct approach, of course. The drawback was Cain would undoubtedly drive a hard bargain for any information he might give out. Abel's life was complicated enough and he did not want to expose his family background to just anyone. Cain wasn't his boyfriend. He wasn't his special lover because the reality of the situation screamed that Cain probably had fuckbuddies all over the starbase.
Abel also doubted if he could believe anything Cain might tell him if he had no way to confirm it except through the navigators' gossip mill. He would have to consider carefully what he wanted to share with Cain. The best he could do today however was to avoid being obvious about his hookup with Cain, there by depriving the nosy navigator or his pal Porthos of any more ammunition.
After clearing the tablet screen again, Abel pondered why there might be so much classified information around Cain and his two previous navigators. Security had to be extra tight during wartime obviously, but it was a hassle also. Was Cain more than he appeared to be? Abel removed the audio bud, putting it away and tucking the tablet under his arm, as an announcement blared over the public address system.
“ALL RED TEAM NAVIGATORS REPORT TO BRIEFING ROOM DELTA IMMEDIATELY”
The mystery would have to wait until the meeting was over.
Next
Author: lob
Fandom: Starfighter by Hamletmachine
List: Eta #05 denial
Rating: Adult
Warning: Starfighter is an explicit adult webcomic which features m/m sex. With that in mind, I will be marking all entries as Adult (or even Explicit in some entries) even though this first entry is very tame. There is some adult language.
Summary: Abel wants info on Cain. Part 1/30
Disclaimer: Hamletmachine owns it all. I'm just building sandcastles with the Starfighter universe while I wait for the next awesome page to be posted
edited on Jan 18, 2011
Abel ignored the puzzled looks the other navigators gave him as he stood in the middle of the hallway. Cursing quietly, he vented his frustration of being denied even a tidbit of information about Cain by the Tiberius' fighter. The man didn't even care that he owed his life to Abel. His cooperation would have saved Abel time, effort and stress because asking other fighters or navigators about Cain was not an option. It would give a crew member too much leverage over him, and Abel had learned early in his life, after a most uncomfortable situation with a school mate, to avoid owing favors. Trust issues were a problem also.
Irritated by the impasse, Abel took a few deep breaths before making his way to the supply office where he could sign out a tablet computer. Navigators used the tablets to keep track of schedules, file reports and pass documents around, but tablets were also useful research tools. Abel had been raised in a household where -- according to his father's many dinner table lectures -- politics was the only game worth playing. His younger years had been filled with lessons in ways to ferret out information.
After waiting in line with a few other navigators, Abel stepped up to the supply officer's desk and asked for a tablet, swiping his hand over the scanner embedded in the desk top when the officer ordered him to do so. Abel thanked the officer upon receiving the tablet.
He returned to the hallway which was now extra busy as the scheduled meeting time drew closer. People were calling to each other as they congregated at the intersection of hallways that led to the briefing rooms. No one spoke to Abel or approached him.
He managed to find, after searching for a few minutes, a quiet alcove away from the main corridor. Dipping his finger into the small hip pocket of his uniform, he fished out a audio bud which he inserted into his right ear before extending the thin wire used to pick up his voice. He whispered his request to the tablet after a quick glance around to assure himself that nobody was close enough to listen in.
“Display all information on Cain, Red team fighter assigned to the Reliant."
“Age: 23 years. Time in service: five years. Stationed on Alliance Starbase 1138 for two months and three weeks. Weapons specialty: flight combat gunnery. Awarded top honors in hand to hand combat tournament held last month on Starbase 1138.”
“More,”he said.
“All other information is classified.”
“What the fuck?” Abel felt a chill run up his spine, making the back of his neck itch.
“Unclear. Please rephrase the question.”
Abel gritted his teeth. There was more information in his own profile and he had only been part of the Alliance for a year and a half. What had Cain been doing for those five years that he did not have any citations, awards or even disciplinary notes? It also intrigued him that Cain had only been on the starbase for about three months and Abel was his third navigator. Would Cain only tolerate someone who was the best like he was? With a frustrated tap on the screen, Abel cleared the meager responses he had received.
“Display information on all navigators in Red team with task name Abel in the last three months.”
Abel immediately recognized his own info, but nothing else was revealed. Had the commanders designated a different task code? Perhaps they had, yet everyone seemed to know his team partner by the task code Cain.
He would have to wave a white flag for now. If he kept asking for classified information or even tried to use his own clearance without a need to know, a security detail would be on his ass in no time, demanding to know what he was up to.
There was always the direct approach, of course. The drawback was Cain would undoubtedly drive a hard bargain for any information he might give out. Abel's life was complicated enough and he did not want to expose his family background to just anyone. Cain wasn't his boyfriend. He wasn't his special lover because the reality of the situation screamed that Cain probably had fuckbuddies all over the starbase.
Abel also doubted if he could believe anything Cain might tell him if he had no way to confirm it except through the navigators' gossip mill. He would have to consider carefully what he wanted to share with Cain. The best he could do today however was to avoid being obvious about his hookup with Cain, there by depriving the nosy navigator or his pal Porthos of any more ammunition.
After clearing the tablet screen again, Abel pondered why there might be so much classified information around Cain and his two previous navigators. Security had to be extra tight during wartime obviously, but it was a hassle also. Was Cain more than he appeared to be? Abel removed the audio bud, putting it away and tucking the tablet under his arm, as an announcement blared over the public address system.
“ALL RED TEAM NAVIGATORS REPORT TO BRIEFING ROOM DELTA IMMEDIATELY”
The mystery would have to wait until the meeting was over.
Next