*
After she left Medical, Naero located Jan.
He insisted on dragging her to a spiraling session of all things, in Dromon’s enormous network of zero-G orbs and chubes. Spiraling was usually reserved for younger teen Spacers around this time.
She hesitated at one of the entrance hatches to the chube complex.
“I’m almost of age, Jan. I don’t spiral anymore. I’m surprised you still do. I’m too old for this.”
He pleaded with her. “Come on, N. I’ve been on a memory run. Remember all the fun we used to have going to these on all the Clan ships? We had a blast. We didn’t just go to make out with the other kids.”
Naero raised both eyebrows at him. “At least I didn’t...usually.”
Jan grinned. “Okay, okay, that was later. It used to be such a ride. Remember? It was just us.” He looked down. “Now...it is just us again, sib.”
Naero hugged him close for a moment.
“Oh, Jan. C’mon. It’s all right. Sure, we can go in.”
They slipped inside and closed the hatch behind them. They slid down the waiting chube, lined and scribed with teen Spacer tags and glowing holo flirt notes.
I luv Mishi.
Theon, chube 17.
Azhuri Decimates the Competition
You flip me Nyssra!
They spilled out into the cushion of the primary zero-G orb, floating in a holographic, color-shifting, mirror-lit sphere forty meters in diameter, with numerous other access hatches and chubes.
Glowing swing lines in changing, pulsing hues, and flashing, shifting push plates stuck out in various places.
Teen throck and tekk music pulsed. The best dump tunes from over a hundred systems played and throbbed and shifted over the speakers and panels in random waves of sound and image that could hit like sonics.
The younger kids were all gone. This was teen time.
You had to be between fifteen and nineteen to get into to this scheduled spiral. Naero barely fit the parameters.
That was her all right, stuck between teen and adult.
About fifty Spacer teens spiraled around in zero-G, laughing, chasing each other, flirting and pairing off.
Of course, everyone knew that spirals were monitored by fleet security so that pairings and the occasional fight never went too far. But swooching and makeout sessions allowed the young to sneak off, let loose some steam, and get together.
Under the Rules of Conduct, young Spacers remained free to approach each other and just talk. Free to work out problems and disagreements. Free to propose, refuse, or change romantic pairings at any point.
Despite the regs, spiraling was a still a blast of release and sheer freedom, compared to ship duty.
Flying and swooping around in null gravity always felt liberating, as if one could, in fact, fly. A great sensation for the young and anyone under a lot of pressure.
Sometimes even Spacer Elders reserved the chambers so that they could float free and chat and recall their younger days.
Jan grabbed her and snagged a push plate with one leg, swinging her in a wide arc down to the core.
Naero laughed, and loosened her long, dark hair, letting it spin free with the rest of her. She soared down and caught a swing line, whipping herself around and rocketing back up off a spinning push plate.
Jan dove at her, smiling and giggling. Then he swung away and shot down a flashing pulse chube.
Naero was right on his heels.
Friends they knew called out to them. Some even came after them.
They chased each other through other orbs, pushing off and swinging. Other teens swooched here and there, their faces locked together in passion, clinging to each other so desperately as they floated.
Various stages of teen hookups. Some just starting out and tentative. Others ending, pulling away from each other, shaking their heads.
Spiraling was uncertain, scary, and great–every part of it.
Naero realized she did miss it.
Why did she ever think she was too old now?
A cute, skinny kid shot out of chube and nearly crashed into her. Naero held him at arm’s length. They spun and laughed together.
“Well, hello, pretty girl. Name’s Danaldi. Haven’t seen a sweet little thing like you in here before.”
Naero chuckled and rolled her eyes. Her petite stature often misled others into believing that she was much younger.
“How about we play tag for a while,” he said, one eyebrow raised suggestively. “I catch you... and then you’re It?”
Naero grinned. Then she flashed her rank bands at the boy. They flared blue in the muted light.
“Whoa. A three-striper.”
“You’re sweet, Danaldi. But I come of age soon. Sorry.”
“Don’t know what you’re missing.”
“Oh, please.” She whipped him around and spun him into the nearest chube.
“Good luck with the younger girls, sweetie!”
“Wahoo!” Danaldi shouted.
Jan popped his head down from another chube and yawned.
“Wow, you used to be sooo much better at this, N.”
Naero shot toward him. “Sib, you are gonna pay for that. I am gonna soak you.”
“Big talk…from an old lady.”
“Oooh. It’s flaring now.”
It only took the length of two chubes before she caught Jan by his ankles and kicked him into a glowing water ball in the next orb.
Splashes and glorbs of the shining nanolit liquid scattered in several directions.
She splattered him good.
They chased each other for a long while. Then they floated and took a breather, sighing and talking quietly face-to-face, in an orb all by themselves.
“Aunt Sleak wants me to say something...about Mom and Dad at the wake,” Jan blurted out.
He hung his head. “I...I can’t do it, N.”
Naero nodded. “It’s all right, Jan. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
“What are you gonna say?”
“I’ll think of something. We loved them. They’re gone. What’s there left to say? You okay, Jan?”
He shook his head. “I dunno. I feel so weird. Ever since that long medtest for that plague, I’ve been having these awful headaches, and really weird dreams. Like someone’s been torturing me–for years. Pretty scary stuff. Sometimes, sib…I think I’m losing it.”
Naero put her arm around him as they floated. “I’ve been having similar problems with nightmares. We’re stressed out. We need to work through it and keep it together. Just remember the good times. That helps.”
Jan started laughing. Then he covered his face. “Mom was such a terrible cook.”
Naero sobbed and caught herself, covering her mouth with one hand.
“Dad wasn’t much better. Good thing they hired some good ones to work the galleys and mess halls.”
The two of them hung upside down against the wall like a couple of old Terran bats and cried together. Their tears floated out around them, bobbling like crystal gems.
Naero reached out and took her brother’s hand.
Jan squeezed back. Both of them broke down.
In spiral, it was okay. No one bothered them. No one judged them or any of their actions.