All That Glitters Ch. 26

"Most of the final designs for the interior of the platform have been determined, with requests from the TGA and directions from Liramor Holdings directing how they will be situated. We have been told to increase the classroom space for the Malton Campus.

"By the way, you missed your exam this week, Prof. Zilina Smeldt wishes to speak to you about that. I would advise seeing her next," David said with a smile.

"Wait? I don't remember having an exam scheduled this week," Fiona noted. "If there was one, she is probably going to force my exam today, even if I am not ready for it," Fiona groaned.

The three others laughed. They had all been subject to Zilina's rather acerbic whit for delaying their reports and projects for her.

"Well, Zilina will be happy to hear that, she will be getting some new students as we will be taking on families on the platform soon," Fiona informed them.

"Families on a working mining platform?" Latten asked.

"Remember, we are going to be more than just a mining platform from now on. So, yes, families," Fiona replied.

"Dr. Heyya will be happy!" Dostier quipped. "It is the one part of her role as a doctor that she cannot work with here on the platform. You should have seen her when Seito told her that she had a pregnancy on The Wanderer. I think Heyya had kittens!"

Campus of Malton University, Liramor-23, Piscium System

Fiona and Helga Hellebore, walked into one of the classrooms of the new university campus just as the lecture was getting out. Prof. Zilina Smeldt was answering some last minute questions from students at her desk as most of the rest scurried away.

As the last of her students left, Zilina looked up and smiled at Fiona.

"So I heard that you were successful at retrieving our missing Captain," Zilina started. "I am so pleased that you managed to do that. I really like Henadi, she studies hard and was always on time with her reports." The last was said with a raised eyebrow that took in both Fiona and Helga.

Fiona barked out a laugh. "Barely back on the platform and you busting my britches over a late report," Fiona said.

Zilina just smiled and waited casually. Fiona opened her comp, connected to the campus computer, and transferred her last report, Helga following suit with her own report.

"I will review the reports today, ladies. That will only leave your dissertation. I know what your dissertations deal with but have you come up with appropriate titles?" Zilina demanded.

"Yes," Fiona stated. "It deals with the changes in status of management during the transition between crisis events and day-to-day dealings during non-crisis times, so I am calling it Senior Management during Crisis Transitions," she informed Zilina.

"Very appropriate. I think it would be a very useful thesis, Fiona," Zilina stated. "How far along are you with it?"

"It is almost complete. I was working on it while I was off the platform on Planet Anuura, I had time on my hands despite everything," Fiona informed her.

"Good. It would please me immensely for you to be the first PhD to be presented from this campus, Fiona," Zilina stated.

"Helga?" Zilina asked.

"I am drawing on my experience as an aide-de-camp for working as an aide during crisis management scenarios, the title will be The Responsibilities of a Personal Aide to Management During Crisis," Helga stated.

"Also appropriate, I look forward to reading and commenting on both. You two are two of my finest students. It would honour me greatly to be able to confer your PhD's," Zilina said, wistfully.

"Three days," Fiona told her.

"Middle of next week," Helga informed.

"Good, that still places you ahead of the other students. Don't be late, please, on your thesis, ladies. Even though I am busy, I will make time to review them," Zilina told them.

"What of Henadi?" Fiona asked.

"Henadi has been in a crisis situation for more than a month," Zilina told them. "I can make amends for her on my own authority and will do so. I hope she will visit while she is here."

New students began to filter in as one of the other professors came in to take over the classroom. They three ladies made their way out to their various offices.

The Wanderer, Liramor-23, Piscium System

The crew of The Wanderer were overjoyed to welcome home their Captain. Henadi had to endure many hugs from very tearful crew. At the end of it all, was Ayesha 'Doc' Seito, who insisted that she accompany her to the infirmary.

Ayesha had Henadi strip and did a full work up on her health, with emphasis on her back. She noted that the Captain was low on potassium levels and on other nutrients, not unusual for someone who had suffered a recent traumatic event.

Ayesha was pleased to see how well Henadi's back was healing and confirmed that the process would be finished in the timeline given to her. Until then, she would be off duty. Not a major concern as the ship was going nowhere for some time to come.

Ayesha's main concern was Henadi's mental fitness. She told Henadi that they would visit Dr. Heyya the next time they were on the platform, which would be the next day, as Henadi insisted that she attend the morning briefings, stating matter of factly that she could sit at the conference table just as readily as she could sit in her cabin.

Next was Gillaya, who Ayesha had already met as she had constantly been in the presence of Fiona Marsh whenever Ayesha was on the platform. Ayesha was a little shy around Gillaya, mostly because of her experiences with Heyya and Anaya as lovers. Gillaya picked up on the shyness, understanding the underlying tensions involved feelings of desire for her. She was quite pleased that she could have found a possible lover almost as soon as she stepped onto her new ship.

Ayesha had her strip, which Gillaya did with alacrity, most people from Hollander's World not being shy about nudity.

Ayesha noted that Gillaya was in good physical shape, which made sense considering her career, but her body was marred by scares.

"Did you not have the opportunity to remove or reduce these scars?" Ayesha asked.

"It would have required me staying in one place too long," Gillaya explained. "Which was not possible before simply because I was always busy with new clients. Now that I am going to be attached to this ship for some time, I can probably take the time to have them removed, or at least have them made to look less horrific."

"That I can do," Ayesha assured her. "It will take up to a week for me to clean most of these up but that will mean you will not be able to do a lot of strenuous activity for that week. You wouldn't want to rip open the healing scars until such time as they 'set' in their new format, which will make them invisible, unless you want some left a little visible.

"Once that week has passed, you will be able to join in the fitness and combat routine that most members of the ship are required to participate in." Ayesha finished.

She drew some blood and checked her contraceptive implant, which her records indicated was less than a year old. Ayesha found it working as it should.

She swiftly finished her workup and then told Gillaya she needed to see Kim and Ululla for her combat and fitness assessment.

Gillaya smiled, telling Ayesha that she was ready for ANY physical activity, giving Ayesha a broad wink.

Just then a mountain of a man walked into the infirmary, making Gillaya looked twice. She instantly got the strong bond of love between the two, as well as worry from Ayesha.

"I'm here for my appointment," the mountain said in a voice that caused vibrations in places that Gillaya liked to be vibrated. "I walked all the way from our cabin without help this time," he said proudly.

"Sean!" Ayesha snapped. "Don't take on too much all at once. You're still recovering."

"Oh, love," Sean growled, taking the woman tenderly into his arms. "I would walk much farther to be with you."

Gillaya felt the pride and warmth of a woman deeply in love burst from the tiny woman. It almost brought tears to her eyes to note the emotional desperation that Ayesha showed her man. She realized just how close to death the man must have recently been.

***********

Gillaya found her way to the main gym and saw Kim working out with the woman she knew was Ululla.

"Ayesha says I'm supposed to report to the two of you for combat and fitness assessments," she said, with a smile.

"You're not wearing workout gear," Ululla noted. "This session could be hard on your regular clothing."

"Shit, if I can run around in only panties during daily exercise routines, I can't see why Gillaya can't do that for an assessment," said Liea as she came up to the small group.

"You didn't!?" Gillaya asked, looking surprised.

"Yep," Kim assured her. "She was late for morning workout and I would have made her do extra laps, she popped her shoes on and came wearing only her panties. She was still late and I still made her do the extra laps. The only thing it got her was stares from the men, and a new nickname."

"Oh! You've got to tell me!" Gillaya replied, intrigued now more than she wanted to let on."

"It's 'Model'," Liea replied. "It was 'Boss', which I liked, but they changed it on me. I'm trying not to let them make it official. But the..erh...memory, is still too vivid in their minds."

"So, you're hoping that me prancing around in my panties will change their minds about your nickname?" Gillaya caught on. "I'm not shy, if you can do your workups in panties, so can I." And she promptly doffed her outfit, leaving her in only her panties, and socks.

"Right," Ululla smiled. "You have to run around the 'track' five times within twenty minutes. We'll go together, as we have not had our daily workout yet."

Kim, Ululla, Liea, and a nearly naked Gillaya started running around the track. Gillaya was impressed that the ship had such a feature in it. She was also shocked at how fit her partners were, she was having difficulty keeping up with them after the second lap and fell back further and further as they kept running.

Finally, she saw the three waiting for her, with Ululla looking at her wrist, probably timing her as she ran toward the start/finish line.

"Time," Ululla shouted, just after Gillaya had crossed the line. "You just made it with seconds to spare. You will have to improve your aerobics levels. Everyone, and yes I mean everyone, even our pregnant crewmember, can do the distance well within the time limit. Only 'Mama' is getting that close to the numbers now, and 'Doc' is likely to have her stop running soon.

"You have a pregnant woman on board?" Gillaya asked, intrigued.

"You haven't heard about that?" Liea asked. Gillaya admitted she hadn't.

"Right, enough of the banter for now," Ululla barked. "Time to assess your combat skills. What fighting style or styles do you follow?"

"I don't," Gillaya admitted. "I mostly fight in reaction to my targets movements."

Both Kim's and Ululla's eyebrows went up. "Liea, would you start, please?" Kim said.

Liea took a stance on the mat as Kim threw her two wooden fighting sticks. She immediately went into her favourite circular movements with sticks and advanced on Gillaya.

Gillaya smiled, impressed by the style, speed, and obvious strength the woman showed. She was good, showing no openings in the movement of those sticks. Gillaya knew her timing had to be perfect. But then, she was emphatic, and that always gave her an advantage.

Gillaya waited for the woman to come to her, and gently slipped between the circling sticks and struck a flat-handed blow to the woman's chest, sending her sprawling.

Liea was surprised to find herself pushed backwards so easily by the woman. Reacting as trained, she rolled with the blow and came back up on her feet, the sticks crossed in front of her as Gillaya moved to strike her again.

Liea smiled and slid the crossed fighting sticks outwards, intending to trap Gillaya's hand with them, only to find her opponents right hand slipping out from the top of her trap and her left hand moving in under her crossed sticks to strike at her a second time.

Liea reacted and slipped to the side, letting the hand move past her. She quickly moved her sticks to strike downward on Gillaya's arm, only to have the woman twist away from her coming back to strike her with her left hand into her shoulder, knocking her down once again.

Ow!! That hurt! Liea thought as she rolled with the strike to end up standing and facing her opponent.

"Kim," Ululla said. She barely got the name out of her mouth before Kim was on the mat and striking at Gillaya. Kim didn't hold back, sending blow after blow with full force behind it, only to have each blow blocked or parried by Gillaya.

Gillaya was surprised at how hard Kim was hitting. Those blows hurt!

Kim added her feet into the mix, spinning, sliding, double kicking, using round-house kicks, sweeps, dragon stomps, and adding her hands in different configurations, only to have Gillaya block, deflect, or simply avoid every strike.

Without any pause, Kim began to move faster, surprising Gillaya, as she thought that Kim was already giving her all. It soon became obvious that Kim was holding back her best.

Then Ululla stepped onto the mat, while Kim stepped back. Ululla hit Gillaya with blows that felt like they were being delivered by pieces of hard wood! Gillaya moved to deflect and avoid as blocking the blows was taking too much out of her.

Kim came back in, while Ululla stepped back. This time Kim was working faster, and harder on Gillaya. Gillaya had no guile left. She was moving strictly on adrenalin and reaction. She was keeping away from Kim as much as possible, but that was not the point of this assessment. They wanted to see her put down an opponent. Gillaya made up her mind and struck back after a rather pointed series of blows and kicks, only to find Kim stepping away from her, deflecting Gillaya's own blows and kicks. Nothing she was throwing was landing on the diminutive Asian woman.

Shit! That wasn't supposed to be happening, this was what she was supposed to do to her opponents, not have them do to her! Gillaya thought.

Just then, she felt more than saw Ululla move to hit her from the side. She side-stepped the blow and threw a strike of her own back, only to have it easily blocked.

The two women began to move around her in tandem, throwing punches and kicks randomly at her, forcing her to react faster and faster to them.

Then, Liea was there, her sticks hitting Gillaya twice on her arms, just centimeters from nerve points that were her probable target if Gillaya had not moved just enough. Loosing the full capabilities of her arms was not a good idea at this time!

"Chhhiiii-aaahhh!" came a cry from off the mat. The three ladies rolled backwards off the mat, and Raymond was suddenly there. Gillaya expected him to hesitate for a moment, but that wasn't to be.

Raymond began to throw kicks and punches of all types at Gillaya, forcing her back again and again. Once more she was blocking blows that hurt! More importantly, not only was Raymond fast but he was also strong!

Each block she made literally rocked her body. He kept his attacks up constantly speeding up to a new level as he fought her.

Suddenly, the inevitable happened. A fist stopped a fraction of a centimeter from her nose. The wind from the blow washed over her face, showing her that if it had connected, that blow would have done serious damage to her.

She looked up over the fist, to see the angry eyes of Raymond, and knew instantly that his anger was aimed at her.

"There can be no arrogance on or off the mat!" he growled, then turned and walked away.

Gillaya was shaken to her core. It had been more than ten years since someone had made it inside of her blocks. Today, three someone's could have, and one did.

"Kim?" Ululla asked.

"She goes by reaction alone," Kim explained her analysis of the combat. "She has no style, but she has obvious training in strike technique, blocking, and movement. Someone gave her the basics, then she walked out on the rest, relying on her empathy to keep her out of trouble.

"That only works against 'normal' individuals," Kim told Gillaya. "With people like us, we will get into your defences and lay you out."

"Liea?" Ululla asked.

"She is fast, but if I were just a bit faster, I would likely have hit her. Kim has an exercise she has me do, where she throws up fluffy little feathers and has me strike and try to capture them. Fighting Gillaya is like trying to hit feathers," Liea told them.

"I agree with the assessments," Ululla stated for the record, nodding to the two, then turning back to Gillaya. "Your training is incomplete and you are lucky to have made it as far as you have till now. We will complete your training, including giving you a style or styles to work with. The advantage of a style is the ability to shift it into a higher gear when you need it.

"Raymond was angry at you because he has already lost one bodyguard and good friend. He does not want to lose another. If you cannot improve, you will not be retained. We will give it our best shot to help you improve. But the rest is up to you, Ululla finished.

"And by the way," Kim said. "You have just earned your nickname 'Feathers'."

"Hell, no!" Gillaya said, angrily. "Not with hair like mine!"

"Did you not hear your boss, girl?" Ululla asked angrily, "that's not why you earned the name."

Just then CPO3 Jennifer Roust came up to the group.

"Hi, 'Mamma', how are you doing today," a delighted Liea asked.

"Well, 'Doc' has ordered me to stop running for the next few weeks," Mamma admitted. "She says I have to stop all strenuous activity but must continue walking."

"Yea, I was expecting that," Ululla admitted. "You walking alone?"

"For the next two weeks, then I have to have someone with me at all times," Mamma admitted. "I heard you have a new nickname, 'Model', but it looks like someone is trying to take it away from you," Mamma said with a smile.

"Nope, Mamma, meet Feathers," Liea said.

"Feathers?" Jennifer asked, looking at Gillaya's hair.

"You know the exercise Kim has us do to hit feathers?" Liea asked.

"Yeah, I get it, hitting her is like trying to hit feathers?" Momma asked.

"Yep," Liea admitted. "Come on, Momma, I have to head back to my cabin to change, I can walk back with you."

"Yep, its official," Ululla stated. "Welcome aboard, 'Feathers'. Go see Doc and get your bruises tended to."

Gillaya went to reach for her clothes, but Ululla stopped her.

"Nope, you heard, Raymond?" Ululla said, with a smile. "Arrogance is unbecoming. You may take your clothes with you, but you don't get to put them on before you are shown to your new cabin. Kim is in the same area, she can get you to the infirmary and back to your new quarters, while making sure you stay as you are."

"You do realize that people from Hollander's World do not object to nudity?" Gillaya asked.

"Yea, but I want to see you do Liea one better," Ululla told her, getting a laugh back.

Hospital, Liramor-23, Piscium System

Henadi and Ayesha sat drinking tea and talking casually with Dr. Heyya. Despite the calm appearance that Henadi gave, Heyya was concerned with her mental state and told her so.

"You have been through a considerable amount," Heyya began, "both physically and mentally. You were forcibly kidnapped, drugged for up to five days to keep you docile, which means your body was not being fed or hydrated, then you were fed minimal nutrients and subjected to scourging. I've seen the vids from the news channels. That was quite the feat you accomplished considering the depleted state of your body.