The Captain did get a shock a short while later, once the Space Relations had docked in the SCS California, next to the SCS Beagle. He was sitting in the lounge with a purring cat woman on either side, while Mary and Margo danced provocatively with the other felines. Cruz and Thor excitedly cheered them on.
Willow appeared from the hallway door with two Expand-O suitcases. The brunette walked over to the hatch, set her baggage down on the floor, and taped a message to the wall. That done, Willow opened up the hatch, picked her things up and left.
"Willow?" Washington called out, as he got to his feet. "Where are you going, Willow?"
He started through the tangle of writhing bodies in the lounge, but the cats simply thought he wanted to dance with them and surrounded him. Exasperated, the Captain backed up and went around them.
"Willow?" He called out again.
"Captain." Mary said, breaking away from the dancers. "I want to say something."
Impatient to chase after his second wife, Washington glanced behind him. "What is it?"
"You can chase her if you want to, but she's already made up her mind." The blonde psychic told him. "It might be better if you let her go at this point."
"What do you mean, at this point?" Washington snapped, as he went to see what Willow had taped to the wall. It was her letter of resignation. He braced his arms on both sides of the open hatch and yelled out, "Willow, you come back here!"
By then, big Margo had come over. She got between the Captain and the exit and put her arms around him.
"It's okay, Cappy." Margo tried to soothe him. "You've still got me to kick around, and you know I'm two tons of fun even when I'm sober."
"Let me go, Margo." Washington insisted. "I'm going after Willow!"
Thor stepped up beside him. "Captain, some of us knew this was going to happen. I just want you to know, I love you, man."
Suddenly, Washington had the two biggest lugs on the ship holding him back. "Let me go before I drop-kick the both of you. I said I'm going after Willow!"
"Let him go." Mary said.
The moment he was loose, Washington jumped outside. Willow had dropped her bags right there in the dock, and was now running toward the security station. She was in that much of a hurry to get away from the ship. After all they'd been through, the captain was stunned that Willow would do this to him. They'd gotten married on Groombridge 34, for crying out loud!
"It wasn't so much a mistake for Willow, as it was an experience." Mary said, from a few feet behind him. "It was an experience she ended up not liking."
Washington turned to face her. "When did you know, Mary? Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"
"I knew ever since we left Zeus. I didn't tell you because you would have been trying to talk her out of it for the entire trip here. She would have nodded and went along with you. She would have lied and told you that everything was fine. Then, when she got the chance, she would have run off anyway. That's what I meant by letting her go at this point. She doesn't want to be here anymore."
"I'll take her luggage to the security station." Thor said, walking over to retrieve it. "I'll be right back."
As the big Viking strode away, Washington stood there confused. "You're suppressing my anger, aren't you, Mary?"
"Yes. If you really want to get angry, I'll let it go. Your real friends are in the Space Relations, Captain."
Washington watched the pretty blonde step inside his ship. He set his hands on his hips and looked up at the metallic gray dock ceiling. After this, he took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Some things he could expect to happen, but not the mutiny of someone on his crew. Willow had been there from the beginning, and now she was about to become a memory for him.
"She was my wife, damn it!" The captain grumbled, but there was no fury behind it. From inside the ship, Mary was still absorbing his harsher emotions. Despite that, the disappointed black man stayed out there, watching and waiting for Thor to drop off the luggage and start his way back.
"You should really have a couple of dances with the cat-girls." Thor said, upon his return to the captain's side. "If we're dropping them off on the Neptune, we probably won't be seeing them anymore."
Washington was left alone then, with dance music drifting out from the open hatch. After a couple of minutes, Mary was seen peeking out at him.
"Are you okay, Captain?"
Washington shrugged. "I didn't expect this. I shouldn't have any turnover at all on a ship the size of this one. I started off with a full crew of seven people. We lost Cummings at Edgeworth Platform, and now Willow just up and quit on me. I've only got five people left including me!"
"Captain, we're picking two of our people up from the Neptune. That will make us seven again. If you don't come in here right now, I'm telling the kittens to go outside and start dancing around you. You know that will be a spectacle and you'll be very embarrassed by it."
Washington could have drawn things out, but he relented and stepped inside. After taking one final look at the mostly empty dock, he shut the hatch behind him.
The last time the crew of the Space Relations had been on the SCS Neptune had been a somber affair. They'd just delivered the two newest members of their crew, former Commander Camelia 'Cammie' Braxton, and Supply Logistics Officer Barbara 'Barbie' Bruxhall, to a military tribunal from Earth. Cammie's fate in Space Corps was to be decided by trial, and Barbie was to be a key witness during the proceedings. The first time the crew had been on the Neptune, they'd basically turned the much bigger ship upside down by informing the highest authority in Space Corps, Admiral Cocksander, of the abuses taking place on Cammie's ship. Not only had Cammie and her second in command been removed immediately, but several other high ranking officers had suffered similar dismissals once an official investigation had started up.
All that was over now. The tribunal was done with and the officials overseeing it had gone back to Earth. The scuttlebutt was that Cammie had been spared time in jail based on her heroic efforts on Groombridge 34 and Edgeworth Platform, the news of which had been broadcast through the Neptune as soon as they were able to receive it. As a result, public sentiment was split over how harsh Cammie's punishment should be. Now that they were no longer yoked by that woman's harsh behavior and restrictions, a large minority of the Neptune's occupants felt she had redeemed herself. Some were even proud that their former commander was now a hero and minor celebrity from the Space Relations. The larger portion of the Neptune's crew, however, still held grudges and spit venom about Cammie every time they recalled how she'd abusively lorded it over them. In their eyes, Cammie had a long way to go before she should be placed anywhere near a ship's command chair, if ever again.
The Starship Neptune was now under the authority of Commander Brody. Unlike when Cammie was in charge, Brody had been brought in to return the Neptune's crew into a happier state of mind so they could function more efficiently on a home so far away from Earth. At Cocksander's instruction, Brody had increased the venues of entertainment on board the large vessel, including finishing construction on a complex that included many of the creature comforts from their home planet, and also by bringing in a steady stream of artists, bands, comedians, gurus in various fields and even sensual courtesans that comforted the men and encouraged the women.
In keeping with this concept of harmony, the crew of the Space Relations did not immediately exit their tiny ship. Instead, they were in a constant communication with the hierarchy from the Neptune while arranging how and where they would make their first public appearance. Even Barbie and Cammie were asked to stay away for the time being, so they would be included in whatever surprises would soon emerge from the now well-known celebrity ship.
"What do you think they're up to?" Shuttle driver Crumly asked his superior. Both men were on the far end of the dock where their higher-ups had stationed them. Behind the pair were three five-passenger shuttles. Each of the small electric vehicles had been covered over with canvas so their ride-alongs would not be seen. "I haven't seen our ship this excited since Braxton got the boot up the ass."
Former Dock Coordinator Mulligan had been promoted to Entertainment Coordinator, a post he liked a thousand times better than the previous one. Mulligan's favorite artist of all-time was Elvis Presley. In keeping with the Neptune's overriding concept of diversity and diversion, Mulligan dressed up like Elvis nearly all the time now. He was the happiest he'd been in years.
"Mulligan, are you even listening to me, you smelly turd?" Crumly asked.
The beaming man shook his head. "I don't know what they're up to. I just know I'm as excited as anyone else on board. Do you know how much better things have been since Bitch Braxton was sent into exile?"
"Of course I do, you nut sack. She used to shit on guys like me the most."
"Well, they're not calling her Braxton anymore, but Cammie. I hear that she avoided brig time by sucking everybody's dick that was on the tribunal."
"I heard that too." Crumly nodded.
"Really? Do you think it is true?"
"Wait a minute. Maybe I heard it from you earlier. I can't remember anymore. I saw the surveillance video from the Edgeworth. I really didn't think that old bag had it in her, but a lot of people think she's a fucking superhero for helping rescue all those people."
"What about Groombridge?" Mulligan reminded his fellow. "Our Cammie seduced the king of that planet. That story is straight out of science fiction! The people on that planet were growing old, and so they needed human lovers from Earth to revitalize their genes to grow young again. Who could have even come up with such a thing? That's what I call having an imagination!"
"Listen, man. When the call went out that volunteers from the Neptune were needed to go hump the population of Groombridge, I almost went."
"I almost went too, but I was so busy with the scheduling here that I couldn't break away from all that. Why didn't you go?"
"Who wants to hump a bunch of old people?"
"They weren't old after the humping."
"Well, the brass very conveniently left that part out at the beginning." Crumly reminded his former boss. "All they told us was that these old people needed to get humped so they could stay alive. They didn't say anything about them turning into young people after the fact. I think they kept that from us on purpose! It was a conspiracy!"
