Season Content notes: explicit sex

Moira pulled on a clean shirt — relieved beyond measure to have one this time. She had never gotten used to her enforced near-constant nudity during her last stay on Meadowsweet. It was the one thing she honestly held a grudge against Zdenko for. Mostly, she let go of the grudge after Susie had explained, in exhaustive detail, what Zdenko would have been dealing with after ten years of Verda. Mostly. The remaining bit of grudge… well, with students coming on board she would probably have to let it go. But if the opportunity came up for some revenge, she just might take it.

Zdenko had been up and gone when she woke up, which meant he was probably either eating or already on watch. The man sometimes got lax about keeping watches in deep space, where chances of running into anything outside the ship were impossibly small. In port, he made sure the schedule was followed like clockwork.

Moira made sure all her things were put away — one surprise zero-g encounter was enough to teach her to always stow everything that wasn’t in use. Then, fully dressed, she stepped out into the common area.

The room was just as Moira remembered it. One corner of the room had a galley kitchen with a table and benches. Another corner had some shelves with a random collection of books, games, and such, with a tri-d screen for watching shows and news. The remaining half had a couple of couches and a small table between them. All the furniture was bolted to the floor, and the shelves were magnetized so stuff wouldn’t go floating away if the artificial gravity went out.

The room wasn’t tiny, but having basically three rooms crammed into it made it feel tiny. Especially when every wall had at least two doors coming off it.

Efe and Skullfire were at the table while Ezra cooked up something that smelled divine at the tiny galley.

Skullfire looked up as Moira entered and nodded hello. Ezra offered Moira a brief smile, then put his attention back on cooking. Before anyone said anything, Ildar came off the bridge, yawning and rubbing his eyes. “Thank fuck, another quiet night.”

Moira yawned as well. “I’m afraid there won’t be many more quiet nights for a while. I should start getting the usual panicky messages from unprepared students sometime this afternoon.”

“Students?” Efe asked.

Skullfire’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Please, explain.”

Ezra took the food off the stove and started serving it.

Moira grinned as she sat at the table and accepted a plate. “You’ve been chartered to haul five grad students and one professor around with you while you go about your normal business. For the next four months.”

The reaction from the others was immediate and unsurprising. Ildar went from sleepy to awake in an instant. “What?!”

Efe just sighed. “I hope they drink tea.”

“We gotta deal with more smarty-pants school types?” Ezra smiled to show he was joking

Moira winked back. “Be glad I kept it to five students — the brass wanted a full dozen.”

Ezra hands her a plate and laughs “Just keep ’em in line, will ya?”

“They shouldn’t need much keeping in line,” Moira reassured him. “These are grad students in their final year — about 25 years old and serious about getting their degrees. Not undergrads just out of highschool.”

Ildar rolled his eyes. “Famous last words,” he said as he dug into his food.

Skullfire ignored Ildar and asked, “Then it would be correct to say they are focused on their learning?”

Moira rolled her eyes back at Ildar. “Yeah, they’ll blow off steam once in a while — hopefully we won’t have anyone from the university improv group — but mostly, yes, Skullfire, they’ll be working.” She grinned. “The university is billing this as a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ “

With a nod of acceptance, Skullfire tucked into her meal.

Ezra grinned as he handed Efe a plate “Damn straight, it is.”

“So aside from quarters,” Moira asked, “what do we need to do to get the ship ready for them, and how can I help?”

Skullfire looked up. “We need to ensure there are enough supplies for six extra mouths for four months, including food and any medications the students need…” She continued listing other necessary preparations as well.

Moira listened closely, taking out her tablet to make notes.

Ezra chimed in when Skullfire was done. “If any of them cook, that’d be good too.”

“About that,” Moira took a deep breath. “how would you feel about teaching some of them to cook?”

Ezra raised an eyebrow “I’m not exactly a professional chef.”

“Ha!” Efe said, pointing at him. “You damn well are a professional — you get paid to cook, that makes you a professional.”

“But I’m not, like, a chef or anything!” Ezra protested. “I’m just a mechanic who knows to whip up a few things.”

“They’re grad students,” Moira said. “If you can teach them more than frozen meals and insta-foods you’ll be doing them a favor.”

Ezra stared at her a moment. “You’re joking.”

“Nope. I’ve known more than one grad student who lived on take out and dried cereal.”

“Jeez. Alright. If they’re willing to learn, I’ll give it a go.”

“Good.” Moira smiled. “Because I’m required to provide ‘elective classes’ in addition to guiding their research. I planned on offering a medic course, but if I’m not teaching all five of them, that would be great. And the university agreed pay a TA’s salary to any of you willing to offer some extra lessons.”

Ildar looked thoughtful. Efe shook her head. “Navigation isn’t for dabbling in.”

“No, but a solid grounding in emergency procedures or watch standing would probably do them good. And” Moira turned to Ildar, “It would probably be good for all of us if you were willing to teach them some basic zero-g maneuvering.”

After a moment, Ildar nodded. “Yeah, even if you don’t call it a… what was it, elective? Be good to get them squared away on all the basic ‘how to survive in space’ shit.

Skullfire “I will consider what teachings I may offer.”

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