***
One thing I learned real fast was that I had a lot of discretion concerning my time and whereabouts since I was the captain of a ship. I had very few people to account to for my actions and the authority to delegate some responsibilities in some situations if need be. To date, I had delegated authority and responsibility only to enhance other people's learning processes. I sought out Penny and checked with her.
"Penny, I'm going to need a little time off today to get some advice from the Sarge. Is there anything urgent here that I don't know of that you want me to take care of?"
Penny said, "If it's about . . ."
I replied, "Uh, no. I need some advice about women."
"Really? Are we talking about Annie?" she asked.
I said, "Yes. I'm scared that I might take advantage of her irresponsibly."
She said, "I thought you already had."
I responded, "Uh, no. That was something we discussed together before it happened. She was the one who took advantage of me. This is a different problem concerning us."
She said, "Well, sure. There's nothing urgent, but I'll be happy to give you some advice from a woman's point of view, if you'd like."
"Thanks. You're probably right. I should get some advice from a woman as well. Do you have the time now?" I asked.
She replied, "Sure. Close the door so no one else has to hear your problem."
I turned and closed the door. Then I took the seat that she motioned me to.
"What's the problem as you see it?" she asked.
I blurted out, "Well, Annie has professed her love for me."
"That's a problem?" she asked.
I said, "There's more. She's said that she'll do anything for me just so long as I let her continue to see me. That's even without me ever marrying her."
Penny said, "I see. She fell for you hard. If that's all you're worried about, then there's nothing to it."
I asked, "Are you sure? I mean, she leaves every decision to me now. She's not like she used to be. She's more like a zombie instead of the bright, bouncing off the walls, young woman I first met. I'm afraid that I might hurt her with all the power she's given me over her."
Penny replied, "Well, that's a lot more thought and consideration than most people give to others when similar things happen. But just be yourself. She'll return to normal eventually."
"How long before that happens?" I asked.
She said, "Well, some people fall that deeply in love and stay that way for years and years. Most just stay that way for a short while."
"How short?" I asked.
Penny said, "Uh, well, that's kind of hard to say. I mean, with some people the severity of the love gradually fades to something more natural and bearable in a year, but doesn't completely disappear. With some, it returns back to normal after a few weeks or a few months. Anyway, you're asking something now that I'm only advising you about based on a few friends I've seen in the same situation. Let me guess, you're afraid that you'll start acting that way, too. Aren't you?"
"Some," I admitted.
She said, "Don't worry about it. It's only most evident when you're with the other person. Otherwise, you'll think about the other person a lot, but you'll still be able to function and be your usual self. Besides, love doesn't always hit both people in a couple that hard. If it did, they'd never be able to function while together. She got it hard. You'll probably get it a lot lighter, if love bites you, too."
I asked, "Did you get it hard?"
Penny replied, "No, Sarge did. He told me about your conversation. I wish I could tell you what you want to know about that, too, but I can't. Back to love though. He'd show up whenever he could get off duty. Then he did some of the strangest and most marvelous things to win my hand. I couldn't help fall in love with him then and agree to marry him. After we got married, he gradually became more normal, like he was before he fell in love, but he still goes out of his way to do things for me. You might as well face it. Annie's in love with you for sure. There's no way of telling beforehand how long it will last nor how strong it will be. If you want her to snap out of it sooner, then marry her."
I replied, "I'm wondering if I should marry her because I think I might have been afraid of marriage for the wrong reasons."
She said, "Well, think about it. If you want to get the Sarge's advice, go for it."
I said, "Penny, I think you've given me an honest appraisal and some good advice. I don't think I'll need to see the Sarge this time. Thanks for your time."
"You're welcome anytime, Dave. Is the Rust Bucket going to be ready tomorrow?" Penny asked.
"Yes. That reminds me of one more thing. Annie once asked me to take her up in the Rust Bucket when I first met her. I refused her on the grounds then that it was a military ship. I checked our policies and couldn't find any guidance on things like that for us. Anyway, I promised that I would check into it and think about it. I'm still not sure that I want to take her up in a gunship. Regardless of how I feel, what is the company policy?" I asked.
She said, "Dave, you're the captain. You have the discretion to take someone up if you feel like it. If you want to take her along on a trip at her own risk, and yours, then go ahead and do it. As long as you don't neglect your duties and responsibilities, you can do just about whatever you please on your ship. So, the ball's back in your court. Sorry, but I'm not going to give you a policy on this that might be detrimental to our needs later on. You'll have to make that decision."
I replied, "Okay, Penny. That's a fair answer. I'll think about it before I answer Annie."
Penny said, "I know you will, Dave. Have a safe journey tomorrow."
I replied, "I will. Good night."
Chapter 21
Annie came out to see me off in the morning. She looked so depressed that I finally made the decision about taking her on the Rust Bucket. I called to the office from the ship, asking them to call her father and inform him that she would be with me and my responsibility, while I waved at her to run to the hatch and come on board. She handed the ignition card for her hover to Jim before running out to the ship and inside, where I allowed her to sit with me on the bridge as we took off five minutes later, right on time. The moment she came on board with her eyes bright and cheery as I remembered them from before, I knew I had made the right decision about bringing her along as far as her sake was concerned. Now, it was up to me to make sure that nothing happened to her on the entire trip.
As soon as we got into orbit, I ran the 'battle stations' drill as we always did. It thrilled and excited Annie as she watched out in space at the targets our gunners perforated with their shots. I thought for a moment that it might frighten her when I announced "battle stations." Evidently she remembered what little I told her of it before during some of our chats.
We were on the route to Gabriel. I wasn't much worried about the trip out so much as the return trip. I would later discover that I needn't have worried. The Rust Bucket's and my reputations were already firmly in place. We were the last ship and captain that any pirate wanted to knowingly tangle with, though I didn't know it at the time.
I allowed Annie to indulge herself on board the ship during the day. By the second day, she must have talked to every crew member and officer. She then walked around naked with their blessings. At night, I indulged her personally in my bed. I even asked her to make love to me and was, again, responded to with the same bright, cheery, bouncy woman whom I first met. By the second night, I knew that I was in love with her. I decided then that I would propose to her once I got her back safely on Beulah where she could begin attending to the arrangements for a wedding.
***
The return trip was as uneventful as the trip out to Gabriel. Not one pirate showed up in our vicinity the entire trip, possibly disappointing Annie, but not me. When we started our landing approach, Annie put on her clothes for the first time in almost two weeks.
She walked out arm in arm with me, after my First Officer said that she wou
ld see to the ship's maintenance. I thanked her and said that I would return shortly after seeing Annie off. I walked Annie to the office. We stopped for a moment as Jim handed the ignition key to Annie's hover to her and told her where it was. Then I walked with her to her hover.
"I'd like to come over tonight, if I may?" I asked.
"I could pick you up," she suggested.
"Sure, I'd like that. Will your father be home? I need to ask him something."
"What? Can you tell me?" she asked.
I replied, "I will then. Can you pick me up in time to talk with him before he goes to bed or out on some kind of duty?"
She said, "All right. I wish you'd tell me why you need to see him."
I answered, "I'm going to do something for him. That's about all I can say for now."
I watched her leave in her hover, slightly confused about what I was up to, but completely obedient to me in my wishes. Then I returned to the ship and assisted my First Officer in taking care of the ship to prepare it for quick departure in case a special shipment needed to be sent out aside from our regular escort runs.
***
I was waiting in the office area. Annie showed up just before five in the afternoon to pick me up. I drove us to the base and then to her father's quarters where she lived with him. About the only thing I hadn't thought of was where Annie and I would live if she accepted my proposal. I only knew that we could afford to live comfortably on what I was making and had saved.
Admiral Reason met me at the door and shook my hand warmly. I almost expected him to not want to see me, but I guessed then that he knew what was on my mind when Annie told him I wanted to ask him something. He offered me a drink, but I suggested that we hold off on the drinks for a few minutes.
I said, "Sir, you may have guessed already. I've come to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage. I've finally come to the conclusion that I do love Annie and wish to marry her. I'm kind of doing this the old-fashioned way even though it's not a requirement. Regardless, I would feel better knowing that we have your approval of my plans, provided that Annie accepts my proposal."
He replied, "Dave, you have made me very happy. I gladly give you my approval and wishes for the best in life and marriage."
I answered, "Thank you, sir. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to talk with Annie and find out if she'll accept my proposal. If she does, then I think that a toast would be an excellent idea."
"Certainly, son. Go get her! Don't take no!" he exclaimed.
***
I finally found Annie in her room and walked over to her. "Annie, I've just asked your father for his approval of what I'm going to ask you now. Will you marry me?"
Annie almost fell to the floor when she heard my words. I was able to catch her and keep her from falling. Before I could get her fully upright, she had her arms around me and was kissing me tenderly on the lips while saying, "Yes, yes, yes."
We walked back downstairs together to the living room where her father was waiting, wondering whether he should pour the brandy he held in his hand or put the bottle away. When he could see our faces and our smiles, he poured drinks for the three of us. Then he carried them to us. We toasted the union to be, our great Union of Planets, the Navy, and just about everything else we thought of as good and righteous.
***
Later, Annie and I were alone in her room talking.
"When did you decide?" she asked.
I answered, "The second night on board the Rust Bucket. That was when I realized finally that I was in love with you, too."
She exclaimed, "Oh, god, what a wonderful ship that old Rust Bucket is! That was the most perfect voyage! I don't think I'll ever experience anything like that again in my life."
I said, "I wasn't sure about taking you along at first, but I enjoyed having you along during the entire voyage. However, I'm not going to be taking you along as a habit. It's still dangerous out there, even if we didn't run into any pirates that time."
She replied, "I know. But at least I'll have that one time to remember."
I said, "Yes, you will and you'll have me coming home to you from now on. We also need to decide where we want to live. For now, I'm keeping my job with Pennyweight Shipping. They've treated me right and fairly. They made it possible for me to get this far. I feel I still owe them some service. If something better comes along at a later time, then I'll look at it with an open mind."
She said, "I figured that already. I don't mind. Whatever you say is good enough."
I said, "That's another thing. I want you to be the same cheery, wild, and untamed woman that I first met. I want our love and marriage to be full of pleasant surprises."
"I'll try. Honest. You really liked me like that?" she asked.
I answered, "Most of the time, especially after I got to know you. Anyway, you were partly that way on the Rust Bucket, again. That's how I was able to realize that I do love you. I had something to prod me then into clearing up my mind and reaching a decision."
***
We had a simple ceremony a few weeks later with her father and our friends in attendance. Then Marsha took over the Rust Bucket while Annie and I went on a honeymoon where no one could find us. While our home was being constructed on the island in the middle of the lake, Annie and I hid out in her cavern behind the waterfall where we made love to our heart's content when we weren't supervising the construction of our home. The honeymoon ended and I reported back for duty as Captain of the Thurman while Annie went about furnishing our home and getting part of it ready for a new arrival to our family.
***
Four months later, Annie gave birth to a healthy son whom we named after her father and myself as William David Oden. It was right after his birth when I discovered Annie and our son were invisible. There wasn't any mention of her or our son in the directory under their names nor mine. Once again, my curiosity was straining at the leash to know what was happening. That time, I got a partial answer that would have to suffice for the time being. As soon as I realized that Annie and William were invisible, I went back to see Sarge. That time I wasn't going to be put off from some kind of answer. I guess he saw it in my face and eyes when he saw me approach.
I said, "Sarge, we need to talk."
"I can see that we do. You have a hover?" he asked.
I answered, "Yes."
Sarge replied, "Fine. We'll go for a ride. Then I'll give you something but not much. You'll have to be satisfied with what I can tell you."
"Okay."
We left the Academy after he checked out. Once we were in the hover and on a highway far away from everyone else, he explained, "It's this way. You and I are both public heroes. We can't be hidden. Your wife and child are invisible as well as your home address to protect them. They're being protected because of what you and I do. You may not know everything you're doing, but that, too, is for your safety, just as it is for mine. Mind you, neither of us is doing anything illegal or immoral, but we are involved with things important to our interplanetary nation. For that reason, certain protections are in effect for us. If you weren't a publicly known hero, you'd be as invisible as Annie and Bill, or do you call him William?"
I answered, "William, for now, to distinguish him from his grandfather."
He said, "Yes, of course. You made that man very happy."
I replied, "I thought so, too, on the day I asked for his approval, before I proposed to Annie."
He said, "Good move on your part. Anyway, I'll bet you a credit to a fraction that you'll feel better knowing that no pirate can ever get access to where your family is by looking in a directory."
I answered, "I hadn't thought of it like that. You're right. I do feel better knowing that they're a little less accessible to that element."
He said, "Exactly. You and I have both fought pirates. You've also fought the Apeoids directly, while I fought them in a different way. We're both well-known so there's no way to hide us, but our families are important. This is for their protect
ion. Now that's all I can really say about the whole affair. Yes, I do know more, but I can't tell you anything further. I hope you never get into my position where you know something and can't tell. Now, unless there's something else on your mind, you can take me to supper and we'll swap war stories."
Rust Bucket Page 26
