(… continuing)

Early the next morning, Marr was on her own, having breakfast in preparation for starting the watch. She was particularly excited. In just over an hour, they would be doing the last traverse before reaching the hub.
Luna came bouncing into the crew mess and sat opposite Marr.
“Great to see you full of energy again, Luna.”
“Yes, I feel great and am super excited about getting to the hub.”
“Why?”
“Other people of course. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved spending every waking moment sitting here staring at you,” she said laughing. “But it’s time to meet some new people.”
“I see you’ve been spending time staring at more than just me!”
“Your companion, is that who you mean?”
“Dukk is not my companion!”
“Ha! Got you. Anyway, Dukk isn’t interested in me. And Mentor told me that I am to consider Dukk a teacher. Therefore the teacher to student rule has to apply. He was very specific about the no sex part of the rule.”
“Interesting that Mentor didn’t say anything to me of the sort.”
“Yes, that is interesting. Anyway, what is your conclusion on the question of sex in space?”
“What!”
“You know. How have you found having sex in space?”
“It has only been three days!”
“Yes, plenty of time, right?”
“How on Earth?”
“Easy and besides, I am information collecting. What’s the harm in having a bit of fun on the way,” Luna said and winked.
“Way too much information for me. And, look if Mentor has you on some sort of mission, it's between you and him.”
“There's no mission. I'm just taking the initiative.”
“So did you learn anything? By that, you know I mean information.”
“Let's just say there are no tourists on this rig. I don’t have any specifics, but that’s pretty clear.”
“What? Who? Really! No wait! I don’t want to know!”
“Look just because your companion is holding out, don’t be passing judgment on me!” Luna replied cheekily.
“For the last time, Dukk is not my companion and what he does or doesn’t do with his body has nothing to do with me!”
“Hah! Got you again,” Luna said laughing before breaking into a little ditty. “Marr and Dukk sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”
“Here is me thinking you two were companioned,” came a voice. It was Dukk. He was standing in his cabin doorway.
“How much of that did you hear?” Luna asked, surprised.
“More than I needed to.”
“Have I broken some rules or a non-negotiable?”
“Luna, what you do or don’t do in this regard, has nothing to do with me or have anything to do with any non-negotiable for that matter. Just don’t create any bad blood. We can ill afford that, in these confined spaces.”
“Noted, Captain!” she replied and stood up. “I’d better finish my walk around.”

They both watched her exit the crew mess. Then they turned to each other.
“Got to love her energy,” Marr said.
“Yep, you sure do,” Dukk replied.
“Are we on track for docking in Maple Tower?”
“I think so. How are you feeling about it?”
“I am looking forward to the real thing. I am a little tired of experiencing it only in simulation,” she said smiling.
Dukk laughed. “Yes, simulation is one thing, experiencing it for real is a different thing entirely.”
“We are still talking about docking at the hub, right?” she added and laughed.
Dukk laughed too. “Time to get suited up.”
“Yep, see you in ten,” Marr replied as she got up from the table.

Just over an hour later, the traverse into the Maple Tower system was complete. Everyone was back and stable. The DMD had been engaged in stall mode.
“How about we let Maple Tower know we are here and request docking clearance. Marr, are you up for that?” Dukk asked.
“Absolutely, doing it now,” Marr replied.
Marr interacted with her controls and could be seen speaking inside her helmet. Moments later she turned back on the crew comms. “That was very positive. They are busy but were alerted to our arrival and have already cleared a pad. We can commence our approach immediately. They have sent through the approach plan.”
“Excellent. I can see it here. I’ll authorise it and see how it pans out,” Dukk replied.
Moments later he continued. “Right, so slowing down and adjusting orbit will take approximately five hours. The docking sequence should take a further forty five minutes. So, we should be opening the door near twelve thirty rig time.”
“What time is that local time?” Luna asked.
“Maple Tower is aligned to Utopiam time. So it is the same,” Marr replied.
“Lunch time. Nice!” Luna concluded.
“When you are finished, I’d like to proceed,” Dukk laughed.
“Sorry, go ahead,” Luna added.

(to be continued...)

[Rule of Twelve, Double Take, Chapter 16 - Docking (Passage 4 of 5)]

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