Shadows of the Ethereal - Part Five

       Dirk’s eyes slowly opened to find Mitch standing over him. It took him several moments to remove the dumbfounded look from his eyes and to register where he was. Slowly he sat up, half expecting Mitch to tell him to stay down. The doctor didn’t seem that concerned with his well being, which wasn’t uncommon for him.
      “You have a minor concussion.” Mitch told him as user the scanner to check Dirk’s head again.
      “Ship took a hit when I was on my way to the torrents. I lost my balance and hit my head on something.” Dirk looked over at the half conscious Sparks laying in the medical bed beside him. “What happened to her?”
      “She’s got some second degree burns on her neck and face and a third degree on her hand. I gave her a good dose of pain killers, she’ll be out for a while.”
      He heard her moan, “Will she be alright?” Dirk asked, bringing his legs over the side of the medical bed. He found that the bed was so high up that not even his feet touched the ground.
      “Her hand will be scarred, but not too badly. She is just going to be in a lot of pain for a while.” Mitch stopped his scanning, “Alright, you are look fine. Let me know if you start to feel light-headed or nauseous, could be signs of a more serious problem.”
      “Thanks, Doc. I knew we kept you around for something.” He dropped to his feet, and headed out of the medical bay.
      As soon as he was in the hallway, he ran into Dill who held a large grin on his face. Dirk knew what different smiles meant on the face of his comrades, and this one said that money was involved.
      “I want in.” Dirk grabbed his upper arm.
      Dill laughed, “Sorry, all bets have been taken… besides I am not suppose to talk about it.”
      The large man frowned, “Maybe you didn’t hear me, I want in.”
      It didn’t take much to get Dill to break, it never did. “Five hundred caps.”
      “Ok.”
      “Josef, Evan’s friend, just asked Nyree out on a date tonight. We are trying to decide how Evan will react. Josef says he stews about it, I said he would go after them, and Nyree thinks he’ll stew and then yell at her about something else when he gets back.” Dill waited for him to respond.
      “Why… why would Evan care?” Dirk rose an eyebrow.
      He laughed not realizing that he was being serious, “You don’t know?”
      “Don’t know what?”
      “Evan has his eyes on Nyree. When he finds out she’s on a date with him…”
      “I get it. Alright then, what is left for reactions?”
      Dill shrugged, “I don’t know, make something up.”
      Dirk curled his lips, “This is stupid, I am not going to play along.” He growled and began down the hallway without another word.
      Mitch looked out through the medical bay doors, “You know that Evan hates it when you make bets like this.”
      “I know, but Nyree is the boss around here and she’s in on the bet.”
      He shook his head and returned to his patient.

      “Another hundred says she stays over night in my quarters.” Josef whispered to Dill as they both waited on the ramp. He knew that the ship could hear them so he tried to keep his voice low.
      He chuckled, “You got a deal.” He mumbled as Evan stepped out of the ship and looked at Josef who was dress in formal wear.
      “Going to be late for the ball, aren’t you, Cinderella?” Evan teased.
      Josef gave a sly grin, “Actually tonight, I am playing the part of the prince. Cinderella is getting ready in her room, I forgot to tell her that I was taking her to the formal restaurant.”
      The playful look in his face faded, “She said yes, did she?”
      “Of course. Did you think otherwise? I mean it’s a proven fact that women who you are attracted are always attracted to me. I thought we established this with Triana.”
      Evan glared at him, “I am not attracted to Nyree.” He growled, trying to keep his voice low so that Aisac wouldn’t hear him.
      “Alright, I am ready.” Nyree stepped out onto the ramp, and all eyes fell upon her. She looked much different then the strong solider they were use to seeing.
      Her hair was up in a bun with some curls falling around her face. She wore a long black evening gown with high heels, and a silver necklace with long dangling earrings to match.
      “You look beautiful.” Josef said the words that Evan was holding back.
      “Yes, I clean up nice.” She smiled and took Josef’s arm when he offered it to her. Before walking away her attention went to Evan, “I’ll be back later in the evening, don’t wait up.”
      “You know that I don’t like it when crew members go out without…”
      “I know, but this is my date and I am not about to take a chaperone. Goodnight, Evan.” Nyree patted his cheek before leaving with Josef.
      Dill snickered as he watched Evan closely watch her disappear with his friend. He said nothing, not wanting to spoil his view or bring Evan’s rage upon him. He could see the wheels turning inside Evan’s mind as to how he would react to this situation. Dill had never before seen his captain jealous over a woman before. With all the good looking women that they had had on their ship, he had never seen Evan give them a second glance. Some had even come on to him, but he would either ignore them or politely decline them.
      Perhaps never seeing Evan act in such a manner was the reason he had caught onto his captain’s unusual behavior immediately. It wasn’t the way that Evan conducted himself that change, no he was still the same man. Instead it was the way that he took any opportunity that he could to be with Nyree, and that he always spoke to the woman by looking into her eyes. It was almost a sweet school boy crush that Evan was trying to hide, but Dill had no qualms about using that crush to fill his pockets.
      “What are you staring at?” Evan barked.
      Dill shrugged his shoulders and headed back into the ship. “I think it’s my turn to cook tonight.” He mumbled, leaving Evan to his thoughts.

Part 7 Not Available Yet.