Top Brass Ch. 01

Samuel sat up a little more in his seat. Her words were a real confidence booster. And rightfully so. His mom had cared for him and his brother all alone after his father had abandoned them years ago.

"We're here, ma'am," the pilot announced over the ship's intercom.

Amanda looked visibly disappointed that their conversation was getting cut short. But duty called. "Understood. Get your things ready, Samuel. We're landing soon," Amanda said, tidying herself up.

Feeling the ship touch down, Amanda and her guards stood up first while Samuel gathered himself up and stumbled around trying to retrieve the bag he had clumsily wedged under his seat. Amanda watched him closely out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

As her group exited the ship, Amanda saw an officer waiting for her. Walking up to her, the man gave her a salute. "Good evening, ma'am,' he greeted her cordially. Amanda just nodded.

Scanning her surroundings, Amanda noticed that they were on top of one of the various high rises of the city. "Aren't I supposed to be at my headquarters? Why are we here?" Amanda questioned.

The officer shook his head. "We're still getting it ready for you. The request for one was a little more abrupt than we're used to dealing with, but we'll have your new headquarters sorted out to your exact specifications, together with full personnel, by first thing tomorrow morning. For now, Admiral Caseus would like to demonstrate his gratitude by furnishing you with these first-rate residential quarters throughout your tenure here on Antares IV."

Amanda cocked her brow. "First-rate? I'm sorry, but that isn't necessary. Just tell Admiral Caseus I said 'thank you'. But this is simply too gracious. Some regular quarters over at the base should be fine." The officer tilted his head and nodded.

"If you insist, ma'am," he replied. "Give me a second while I arrange for your new accommodations."

As Amanda waited, Samuel stumbled off the dropship. "Woah... This place is kind of high..." he muttered in awe. Amanda turned to him and saw a starry-eyed look on his face.

"Samuel, come here," Amanda ordered, hiding a small smirk. Samuel turned his attention to her and quickly scurried over to where she stood.

"Yes, ma'am?" he queried, clutching his duffle bag tightly.

"Have you never been on top of a high rise before?" Amanda questioned curiously. Samuel just shook his head.

"No... There aren't a lot of buildings like these near the academy on Rubicon V, or back home on Harmony. I'm used to seeing nothing but rocky mountains and rural pastures," the cadet explained. "Are we staying here, by any chance??" he added, trying to hold back his excitement. Amanda hesitated to answer. She usually wasn't one to indulge in fancy things. But she was amused and intrigued by Samuel's amazed reaction to this elaborate towering skyscraper.

Chuckling, Amanda called out to the accommodations officer, "Actually, I think we will stay here." Samuel looked visibly excited. The officer put his datapad down, trying without complete success to suppress an annoyed look, but in the end, he just nodded.

"Understood, Director. Here, let me show you the way," the officer replied obediently. "Will your cadet be accompanying you? If not, I can arrange quarters for him elsewhere."

Samuel's enthusiastic smile faded away. Amanda glanced over at him. She couldn't get over how cute he was. He reminded her of some sort of puppy. "He will be accompanying me." Again, the officer just nodded sufferingly.

The officer strode off, showing them the way, with Amanda and Samuel falling in behind him. They boarded an elevator and proceeded down only a couple of levels before the doors opened to reveal a luxury apartment. The place was practically a penthouse. The view out over the city, the spaceport facilities, and the cluster of military bases was spectacular.

"Here's where you'll be staying, ma'am. The rest of your personal belongings are being transported over here even as we speak. Furthermore, there will be a dropship on standby for you at all times." Amanda gave an acknowledging nod. Giving one last salute, the officer ushered himself out of her new residential quarters.

Going over to a nearby counter, Amanda placed her datapad down and began to divest herself of her various additional devices. Meanwhile, Samuel walked over to the large window and gazed out in awe at the scenery which unfolded endlessly in all directions.

As he took in the sights, near and far, the sound of clicking boots approached him from behind. "Enjoying the view?" Amanda asked, placing her left hand on his right shoulder.

Samuel flinched and swiveled his head to face his attractive superior officer. "Uh, yeah. I never realized how beautiful the city looked from up here," he answered, turning his attention back to the window.

Glancing over at her new cadet, Amanda noted the starry-eyed look he was too unsophisticated to conceal. She kind of felt bad for a kid like him being in a place like this. He seemed far too innocent to get caught up in the Coalition's war machine. And yet, he had still been willing to serve, even in a place like this, so far from the simple and peaceful life he was accustomed to. Amanda had to admire Samuel's bravery and resilience. Being so far from home, out on the fringes of civilized space, must be challenging.

"Hm, do you see that large box-like structure over there?" Amanda said, pointing over at a large ominous black building in the form of a cube, which was encircled by water and towering walls all around its perimeter.

"Yeah, I see it," Samuel answered.

"That's Site-Sigma. The headquarters for the Coalition's intelligence bureau in this sector of the frontier. And where my new headquarters is most likely going to be. So get used to being there often."

"Woah, okay..." Samuel trailed off, his eyes locked on the large cubical structure, surrounded by its heavy defenses. Amanda was really amused at how naive Samuel seemed to be. She should be disappointed that an academy cadet had little to no experience outside of their military institution but, strangely, she found herself taking pleasure in guiding him, in showing him the ropes. Well, it was in fact her duty to mentor the next generation of military personnel.

"Well, I think you've had enough sightseeing for now, Samuel. You need to go ahead and find your quarters. Pick whichever room you like. But the master quarters are mine. Understood?" Amanda phrased her words in the form of a question, but it certainly fell upon his ears like an order. The cadet nodded and proceeded up the stairs.

Going over to the kitchen, Amanda picked up a datapad docked on a nearby wall. She pressed a few buttons to switch a servant droid on and disconnect it from its charging port.

"How may I serve you, madam?" the droid inquired cordially.

"Could you please make dinner for two and deliver one of the meals to my office and the other to whatever room my cadet is staying in?" Amanda asked, making a few inputs on the datapad.

The droid nodded. "Of course, madam. I will begin prepping supper immediately. I should have it delivered to you within the hour."

-

Amanda sat in her office with her half-eaten dinner before her, sipping on her Marganti wine as she scrolled through various reports and files sent to her on her computer monitor.

Hearing her office door slide open, Amanda curiously tilted her head to look past her monitor to see who it was. Her crimson eyes widened to see Samuel standing there with his dinner tray in his hands.

"Samuel?" Amanda said in a perplexed voice. "What is it?"

He nervously fiddled his toes and replied, "Is it okay if I eat my food in here with you? It's kinda lonely in my room..." Amanda felt her hardened heart melt a bit. Samuel was just so adorable.

"You can eat here with me, I suppose, since you asked so nicely," Amanda said, giving him a sympathetic smile. Happily nodding, he walked over and took a seat directly across the desk from her.

Samuel quietly ate his food as Amanda continued with her work. She would sneak a glance at him every now and then to check on how he was doing. But every time, he was just sitting there silently. Amanda had expected him to converse with her while they ate, but maybe just being in the presence of another person was enough for him.

"Okay, I think I'm gonna kick the bucket, ma'am. I'll report to you early in the morning," Samuel informed her as he finished up his dinner. Amanda cocked her brow. Was that it? Had he just wanted to share a meal with someone nearby? She began to wonder if her cadet had some serious anxiety issues.

"Okay, Samuel. Goodnight, then. And by the way, you can just call me 'Amanda'." Samuel looked confused.

"But isn't that inappropriate, for me to just use your first name like that?

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Well, obviously not in public. Only in private. And make sure you remember that because I don't want to get into trouble just because of a slip of your tongue," she explained thoroughly. Samuel looked visibly intimated and obediently nodded.

"Alright then, goodnight, sweetie," Amanda said, unconscious of her own slip into the endearment. Samuel blushed and exited the office. As she took another sip of wine, Amanda nearly choked as she realized what she said.

"Sweetie?? Why did I say that?! Ugh, Amanda, get yourself together. He's supposed to be my personal assistant, for god's sake," she exclaimed to herself. Then she took a measuring look at her wine glass. "Perhaps I may have had a little too much to drink." Things were moving pretty quickly with her cadet. She began to wonder if she was being unprofessional. Her peers would probably raise an eyebrow if they knew of how she was treating Samuel. But for some reason, she was indulging an instinct to nurture this boy.

Finishing up the last of her work, Amanda proceeded to her room and went to bed...

-

It was early in the morning and Amanda was dressing herself in readiness for the long day ahead. Putting on her usual uniform, she slipped on her boots and headed out of the room. Walking down the stairs, Amanda saw Samuel eagerly waiting for her on the couch.

Standing up, he saluted her. "Good morning, ma'am! Erh- I mean Amanda! No- ma'am?" He seemed visibly confused, which only made him look even cuter to Amanda.

The senior officer gave an amusing smirk. "Good morning to you too, Samuel. Are you ready for the day?"

"Yes!" he eagerly blurted out. "Oh, I went ahead and made you some breakfast and coffee. If you don't mind." Amanda looked over at the kitchen island and saw a plate of eggs with some toast neatly arranged next to a steaming mug.

"Did you make that, or did the droid?" she queried. Samuel nervously averted his eyes to the ground. "Never mind that, thank you, Samuel." At least he seemed attentive, as a dutiful assistant should be. She needed to consider what other sorts of duties she could find for him to fulfill.

Amanda went over and picked up the coffee mug. "Did you eat yet?" she asked, sipping from the mug. Samuel shook his head. "Here, eat this for yourself then. I usually skip breakfast."

"Are you sure?" he cautiously replied. Amanda just nodded. "Um, okay, thank you, ma'am, erh, I mean Amanda." He occupied the extra stool at the kitchen island and slid the plate of food closer to himself.

As he ate, Amanda watched him attentively. She didn't understand why she was so enamored by him. Everything he did was just so cute to her. Meanwhile, as Samuel ate, he felt his superior officer's watchful gaze. He struggled to focus on eating. He wasn't sure if he wanted to make eye contact with her, but each time he tried, he timidly backed off.

Samuel had to admit that the situation he found himself in wasn't nearly as bad as he had feared. At first, he'd thought he would need to be flawless during his entire assignment with her. So far, he had been almost anything but. Luckily, though, Amanda was proving to be surprisingly patient with him. She didn't come across as a superior at all. Strangely, she reminded him of a relative, an affectionate aunt, or even a forgiving maternal figure. Furthermore, Amanda's beauty flat-out hypnotized Samuel. Her elegant facial features, womanly body, and motherly personality made him feel things that he couldn't describe, or that he was too embarrassed to admit to himself.

When he had finished eating, Samuel looked across to Amanda. He blushed immediately to see that her piercing crimson eyes were already watching him appraisingly. She smirked, then grabbed a napkin and walked around to his side of the island. Samuel froze as Amanda entered his personal space. He felt the warmth of her body and detected her subtle, professional yet sweet aroma.

As he tilted his head up to her, Amanda reached out and delicately wiped around his mouth. "You are a messy eater," she chuckled. Samuel felt his face burning with embarrassment. Thoroughly wiping a last smear from his chin and swiping a few final crumbs off of his uniform, Amanda pulled away. "Hm, all better."

"I- um, thank you, Amanda..." Samuel said, trying to keep a composed voice. Her siren eyes gazed upon him and she smirked.

"Come now. It's time to go, Samuel," Amanda ordered. Samuel nodded and hopped off the stool.

He followed Amanda to the main hall, where Amanda stopped and stepped up to stand in front of Samuel. Reaching upwards, she adjusted his collar with a couple of expert tugs. Once she was done, she stretched one hand further up and pinched his cheek. "Hey..." Samuel whined, rubbing his cheek.

Amanda just chuckled. "Here, I have something for you." She briefly disappeared somewhere, before returning with an extra datapad in hand. Handing it over to Samuel, she said, "This is your own personal datapad. You will use this to organize files I send you, respond to messages for me, and do other assistant-like duties. You can also reach me using that." Samuel looked happy and disappointed at the same time. He was happy to get his own datapad, but a little discouraged that he could only use it for boring work-related stuff.

Noticing his frown, Amanda sighed. "If you get all your work done, you can use it recreationally." A smile formed on Samuel's face, but he tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Uh, is that allowed?" he asked.

Amanda shook her head and gave a knowing smile. "Only if you be a good boy and do your job well," she cooed, grabbing his cheek again. Samuel blushed and slowly nodded. Hearing her call him a good boy made him feel tingly and happy. But it also felt very personal, which he didn't mind.

"Alright now, let's go, Samuel, we have a long day ahead of us," Amanda instructed. Heading to the elevator, they reached the landing pad where a dropship waited, all warmed up and ready to take them to Amanda's new headquarters...

-

As the elevator doors opened, Amanda stepped back into her residential quarters with Samuel dragging his feet behind. His first full day of work had been draining. He'd done a lot of walking around the large bureaucratic building; the cubical one he had seen the previous night from the window. His entire time there, he'd stuck to his superior officer like a calf to its mother. Samuel had felt so out of place. Everyone there looked so serious, so professional, so intimidating... He'd even drawn the attention of other government employees because of how much he stuck out.

Thankfully, however, Amanda had held his hand throughout the entire day. Well, not literally. But she'd rarely left him alone for more than five minutes. She had taken him to quiet places from time to time so that her anxious cadet could get a breather. And she'd made sure his workload wasn't too overwhelming. In reality, he didn't have all that much to do. Mostly Amanda's day consisted of meeting after meeting and debriefings for her staff.

Back at their residential quarters, Samuel made his way over to the kitchen island. Sitting on a stool, he leaned against the table and rested his head on his arms. "You okay, Samuel? I know you've had a tough day. But you did a good job today," Amanda assured him in a calming voice. Samuel slowly raised his head up and smiled. She always knew how to cheer him up.

"Thank you, ma'am- erh, Amanda," he replied, reminded that they were in private again. She just gave him a warm maternal smile in return.

"Let's have some dinner and you can head to bed," Amanda informed him, as she made a few inputs into the kitchen datapad. Samuel nodded, he could definitely eat some food right now. But he mostly just wanted to spend more time with his superior officer.

As they ate, Amanda kept a close eye on her timid cadet. She knew that he was a bit... different from the rest, but she was fine with that. There was something about being responsible for him that she found strangely fulfilling. But she also adored how he constantly clung to her, like some sort of shy puppy. It only made him seem cuter, which she very much enjoyed. There was just something about him, some quality of shy naivete combined with a bumbling, earnest attempt to please, of which she was more enamored than she could easily explain to herself.

But as they continued to eat, she kept catching him looking at her. Every time his innocent green eyes met her own crimson orbs, he quickly flicked his eyes away, down toward his plate, or off in some other neutral direction. Amanda could tell that he found her irresistibly attractive, she couldn't blame him. She was an extremely good-looking woman. A small grin formed on her face as something amusing occurred to her.

"Samuel, why do you keep looking at me like that?" she queried, taking a sip of wine. Her cadet jolted on his seat and his face turned beet red.

"Wha- What do- do you mean?? I'm not looking at you in a cer- certain way!" he nervously stuttered, his body now clenched as stiff as a rock. Amanda tilted her head and smiled.

"Don't lie to me, Samuel. I see how you look at me all the time. So tell me. This will stay between us. I promise." Her assurance helped him relax a little. But he still refused to answer. "Come on, Samuel. You can tell me. You trust me, sweetie, no?" she prodded.

Gritting his teeth and groping his dining utensils, Samuel felt like he was going to pass out. He was so embarrassed by how easily she had detected and then confronted his voyeurism. Well, he had kind of been asking for it: he hadn't exactly been subtle. Even if it wasn't really voyeurism, just poorly-hidden admiration. She had flat-out busted him crushing on her.

Slowly looking up, his eyes met Amanda's. Her eyes were imbued with a comforting aura that he found he could trust. Sighing, he mustered the courage to explain himself. "I- uh. You- um... Uh..." he struggled to get out what he was trying to say, his throat choking up every time he got out more than a word or two.

"Come on, Samuel. You can do it," she encouraged him.

Taking a deep breath, Samuel started over once more. "I just think that you are very pretty!" he blurted out as quickly as he could before his voice failed him again. His eyes fixated on his plate as if the remnants of his meal were the most fascinating things he'd ever seen. He winced, overcome with sheer embarrassment. Surely it was unprofessional to confess such a thing to his superior officer.

A satisfied grin formed on Amanda's face. "Aww, how sweet of you, Samuel. Thank you," she replied warmly. "You know, you're a very handsome boy yourself." Her compliment caused Samuel to sit up. He was elated to learn that she thought he was handsome. He had been teased for so much of his life about how small and wimpish he was: her praise was a real confidence booster.

"I- uh, thank you, Amanda. That means a lot..." he managed to articulate at something approaching a normal pace of diction. His head rose back up, so he could meet her eyes again. Amanda just nodded happily and continued with her meal.