"Then call me Serana."
"Very well. Now, was Shepard a considerate lover?"
Jane grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth. "I'm not sure..."
"Sit!" I ordered. Jane looked at me, almost desperate to be allowed to leave, but considering she'd been causing trouble at home, I was now going to have fun at her expense. Looking at Serana, I smiled and said, "Please, Serana, be honest with our priestess."
She returned the grin and looked back at Leliana. "His cock is fantastic, Leliana. Made me cum more than once. He's very considerate and loves eating pussy too. Haven't had too many lovers who enjoy doing that often."
"So he is talented?"
"With his tongue? Definitely. With his cock? I had it hard and fast last night, and this morning I rode it until I couldn't last any longer. My pussy hasn't had that sort of attention in quite a while."
Leliana just turned to look at me with a smile. I glanced at Jane, who didn't meet my eyes, head in her hands, probably wishing she was anywhere else. "That is good to hear, Serana. I'm glad to hear our captain is such a kind and consider man."
"He's a real gentleman, Leliana, except when you're naked underneath him, or if he has you on hands or elbows and knees. Depending on what you want, he'll slam his length into you, making you beg for more."
"I really need to be fucked," Jane murmured. She looked up, realising who was around the table with her. Then she looked at me and blushed. "Gods, not by you. Just... all this talk..."
"I am sorry, Jane. It's just that, for the moment... Well... I wish to wait, but that does not mean I don't want to hear that others are being pleased by him in such a way," Leliana stated. Right then and there, I could have said I loved her, and except for maybe Serana, I would have accepted and moved on.
"Don't wait too long, Leliana. Trust me, you are missing out on something really good," Serana admitted. Then, to obviously provide more fun, she turned to Jane. "It's a shame he won't fuck his sister. I think you would love a deep dicking from him too."
I coughed a laugh, while Jane looked like she just wanted a hole to open up and swallow her. Leliana looked at me, a mischievous smirk. I knew already that my one lover, and potential lover, were going to be trouble. "Jane is attractive, Shepard. Would you care to enjoy relations with your sister?"
I could only look at her, open mouthed. "Maybe he'd need a second woman there, just so it wasn't completely awkward to begin with," Serana suggested. "Once she had his dick, though, he wouldn't stand a chance."
"Okay, I think we should wrap this up," I said, wiping my mouth with a napkin and standing up. I made sure I smiled when I added, "And I think we should all return to our posts for now."
Two of the three women pouted while Jane just looked at me, a grateful look in her eyes. Serana teasing her about me wasn't anything new, it had happened more than once since that first time. Leliana joining in was a surprise, but I think she was just having a little fun at my expense, while perhaps finding common ground with Serana so things didn't get too awkward.
After breakfast, I returned to the quarterdeck. Moreau was already at the wheel, ready to go. Pressly had maps at the ready, and from looking at it beside him, he'd already plotted his course, taking account of speed, degree of turn, depth and everything else required to get us through the reef safely.
"How long to get through, Mister Pressly?"
"Honestly, at least six hours, and that's if the route on the map is correct. The number of course adjustments required is staggering, sir. If the Great Barrier Reef was placed by Neptune to keep the Empire safe, then he did a damned fine job of it. No wonder we've never received visitors except the Batarians."
"Miss Lawson, are you ready?" I asked, noticing she'd taken position next to me. I gave her the once over, as there was no doubting she was attractive, but I doubted our relationship would be anything but professional. She was definitely a career sailor and I knew was hoping to get her own ship one day. And I already knew I'd do all I could to support that aim.
"Aye, sir."
"You may give the order to depart, Lieutenant."
I'll be honest, if the ship is run well, and my subordinates do their jobs, I simply concentrate on the bigger picture, issuing instructions to the Master of where we should head. It was during battle where I would take complete control, though even then, I would rely on the judgement and experience of those in the chain of command. I can't be everywhere all at once.
Sails were unfurled, anchor was weighed, rigging was secured. Pressly wouldn't move now until we were through the reef, his eyes either at his sextant, watching his compass, or plotting the course on his map, continuing to issue instructions to Moreau, who would remain at the wheel for just as long. Such long watches were unusual, usually it was four hours on, four hours off. But I had changed that to three eight-hour shifts, or two twelve-hour shifts depending on how things were running. The evening and night shifts would be sparse, simply to keep the ship safe if not at anchor, ensuring that we were kept safe if the weather turned or we did run into anyone else out there.
"Keep her steady, Moreau," Pressly stated, "Lieutenant, we want no more than four knots. Some of these turns won't be pretty."
"At your word, Mister Pressly."
The ship gently moved forward. Thankfully, the sea was calm, the breeze light, enough to propel us forward, but even at full sail, we wouldn't reach maximum speed. I'll admit to a sense of relief. If the weather had been awful, or winds blowing a gale, or in the wrong direction, we would have remained at anchor until conditions were right. Not perfect, a sailor rarely had perfect conditions.
"How wide is the channel, Mister Pressly?" I wondered. I already knew, but it was to fill the silence, help ease any nerves or tension.
"We're twelve metres at the beam, sir. The widest estimate of the channel through the reef is eight metres."
"So it's going to be tight?"
"The slightest miscalculation could have us beached if not worse, sir."
"I will leave you to it, Master."
He continually issued minor course corrections to Moreau, no more than a degree or two to port or starboard. If we didn't enter the channel perfectly, the entire journey could be a disaster. He'd issue continuous orders to the boatswain, the deckhand in charge of the sails, asking to hoist or lessen a particular sail.
"One mile out, sir," Pressly reported. Part of me wanted to head to the bow and see the reef. No Imperial ship has approached the reef this close, at least willingly, since the
Dunkerque
disappeared. The one or two that had was due to rough seas or mistakes. The commanding officer could not cover up such an event. If it was rough seas, it was taken as an act of the gods. A mistake was punished if it was due to negligence. If it was just a mistake, as we were all human and they happen, there were consequences but not as severe.
There were shouts from the bow and the deck as we entered the reef before the entire ship seemed to fall quiet. We were now going beyond what any other ship had done... except the
Dunkerque
. The only sounds were of the waves hitting the bow, the ship riding the waves, the creaks of wood that were constant, winds billowing the sails, the clank of metal, the flapping of the rigging. And, above all that, were clear instructions issued by the Master to Moreau. When to turn to port or starboard and for how long to turn. He did mention what degree, but Pressly counted down how long to turn before stopping.
I stepped down to the deck and had a look over. The reef was beautiful. I'm not sure what made up the reef, no-one was sure, but the kaleidoscope of colours appearing just beneath the water was absolutely breath-taking. I sensed a presence next to me. "Truly a gift from the Five," Leliana whispered.
"I wish we had some way of documenting it all, take it back to the Emperor and everyone else."
"There are one or two who can draw, sir. I believe they are doing so now."
"Good. Good."
We suddenly made a sharp turn to starboard, least thirty degrees. And looking over the side, I could see why, as the reef appeared near the surface where we would have sailed if remaining on the same tack. And looking at whatever made up the reef, it likely would have torn the hull of our ship to shreds.
