Dead Star Dockyards

The telltale sign of a successful injection into the proper blood vessel, a short trickle of piping hot blood, appeared as Donovan awaited his caretaker's response.

"Diana. I'm Diana." Despite her efforts to suppress it, Donovan could hear some heavy breathing. "As much as I might like to tell you the good news, I'm afraid there's not much."

Don didn't understand. He was alive wasn't he? Wasn't that good enough news when compared to the hell he had managed to live through? Was there something else that was going on?

Regardless, this was his first interaction with someone of the opposite sex and presumably around his age in a very long time. Even in the academy there weren't many he could freely talk to.

Of the many cliché and cheesy pickup lines he had thought up in his 'free' time, this situation was a perfect fit for one. Diana seemed to be on the backfoot, unable to control the conversation. He was going to have fun with it even if she killed him for it.

"Aaaaaah, I get it. You don't have to explain."

"Huh?"

"Man, to think I would die like that. Pretty cool though."

"What? Huh? Explain what?"

"Oh? Are you going to make me say it myself?"

"What? What are you talking about?" She was properly confused now, completely off her guard.

"Isn't it obvious I'm in heaven? I couldn't see much but even I'm smart enough to realize where I am."

"Wha, what made you think that?"

There it was. Time for the punchline, that being the line that would end with him getting punched.

"Just a quick glimpse at you was enough to tell me you were an angel. As far as I know, angels only exist in heaven."

He couldn't hold it anymore. Don had been holding a neutral expression, but now he could feel his expression burst into a massive shit eating grin. Oh how he lamented being blind, he couldn't see the look on his nurse's face.

In his mind's eye, her cheeks were flushed a deep cherry, her mouth pursed in an 'o' out of shock at the audacity. He was prepared to take a hit, be that a punch or slap, in response to his harassment.

Probably the worst part about it was that he had absolutely no clue as to whether or not this might be an effective way to flirt. This was his first try, ever. His only references were from movies and the occasional bit of eavesdropping he did on campus.

Ultimately, it was her lack of immediate action that made him worry he may have miscalculated the efficacy of his teasing. Perhaps she was used to this sort of thing, and had reacted in exasperation.

In hindsight, souring his relationship with the person who was, presumably, responsible for his health was not his brightest idea. Just as the sweat started forming on his neck, she responded.

"My Grandfather warned me you might do something like this. Shame on me for being surprised by it."

'shit' was the word that formed in his brain. He couldn't be confident, but that did not sound like the voice of a flattered individual.

That made what followed all the more surprising. A warm, slightly moist sensation on his cheek. He had never received one before, but this was no doubt a kiss.

"Surely you know that no angel would ever give a scoundrel like you affection." Now she was whispering faintly into his ear. Don could feel the light sensation of her hair on his exposed shoulder. "Is that enough to evidence to show you're alive?"

That was without a doubt the hottest thing Donovan had ever heard in his life.

He wasn't a 'watcher of pornographic materials' as the Doctor put it, Navy regulations and the Doctor's strict regimen precluded such activities, but he certainly remembered the raunchier scenes in some of the movies he had the pleasure of watching while isolated aboard the Noah.

Needless to say, if she offered it he would take her up on the offer without a second thought. Even now the light sensation of her heavy breaths on his shoulder and neck were making him a bit dizzy.

Was this lust? Was he horny? Don couldn't tell, but this was the first time he was feeling that way. Don was convinced that this woman would be worth the effort of wooing.

His train of less than pure thoughts was put to an end when Mercedes started whining at him. He had stopped stroking her, and she took it upon herself to attack his shoulder with a barrage of nips for having the audacity of focusing his attention elsewhere. Owing to the fact that this attention was focused on the 'dirty' process of human reproduction, he was quite thankful for the distraction.

He couldn't imagine that his chances at getting far in a relationship with this angel of a woman would be very high if all he thought about was sex.

"Are we done with the flirting?" Her breaths, softer now, had returned to their natural cadence.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good!" She was no longer right up next to his face. "With that out of the way, should we get back to our conversation?"

"Only if you want to."

Diana flicked him on the forehead, inciting a snicker from Don. Teasing was a lot more entertaining than he had imagined it would be, and she could clearly roll with the punches. Whether or not that was out of pity was currently beyond him.

"As I was saying, I am Diana Helmsguard. I understand you were training under my grandfather. The-"

"Wait, you're Doc's 'Little Moon Goddess'?"

"Yeah, the one and only. Anyways, the situation we find ourselves in is somewhat dire, so I would really appreciate it if you stayed calm."

"What are you doing out here?"

"I will explain that later."

"How did you get here?"

"I got here the same way you did."

"Weren't yo-"

"Hold the questions for now soldier boy. I can answer them later. For now we need to get back to the Noah, do you think you can walk?"

Don had plenty of questions, but they were not very important.

"I'm not confident of doing it under my own power, but I could probably do it if I used your shoulder."

"Then let's do that. Come on, out of bed."

- - - - -

Diana's mind and heart were fluttering.

Don had no way of knowing, but one of her biggest romantical fantasies involved the pet name 'angel'. She couldn't place where she had initially dreamt this up, but she blamed her grandfather's excessive use of his nickname for her.

Little Moon Goddess was a reference to her namesake, Diana. In Roman mythology, she was associated with the moon, hence the nickname. The Goddess was also related to hunting, but that never really fit her modus operandi.

Diana was embarrassed about this pet name, though her grandfather insisted it fit her in every way. This embarrassment was magnified once Don revealed that he knew about this nickname. Somewhere in her heart she had hoped that this moniker would die with the rest of humanity, but it would seem the Doctor's peculiarities would persist even after death.

The worst part about this revelation was that she liked it when Don called her that, which Diana instinctually blamed her grandfather for. He did that sort of mental manipulation all the time.

Diana was also wondering if she had been too forward with her (seductive) admonishment of her future partner. She didn't know anything about him beyond the surface level information, so she feared that sort of suggestive maneuver would turn him away.

She read that men of the modern age liked to be the ones to initiate such intimate engagement, and she was unsure if Donovan followed this trend. Fortunately for her, there was a variable she had not accounted for.

The young man had been deprived of even the opportunity of romantic and sexual relationships for his entire life and was completely isolated from the modern dating culture. Even as they worked to get him off of the mattress, he was in the process of working out how to court her, unaware of the fact that he was going to be with her regardless. Donovan was already infatuated with her, she didn't need to do anything more.

Diana's most immediate concern was getting Donovan back to the Noah in one piece. Doing so was proving to be very difficult.

Straining and struggling to get out of the bed, his legs proved to not be nearly as agile as his arms. He was a bit better when it came to walking, but it was slow, and he needed tons of assistance. He wasn't the heaviest, but Diana still struggled with him. There was a big difference in their sizes.

Diana also noticed a different issue, one that really only applied to her.

Donovan was, for the most part, nude. Donovan was also sweaty. While he didn't exactly smell bad, she didn't want her favorite clothes to be ruined by it.

The sweat also made it difficult to keep a hold on his arm, which was draped over her neck.

"How much further is it. I can't exactly see."

The wasn't long when she was unburdened, but the passage felt ten times as long under this pressure.

"I'd say about 3 minutes."

"Fuck. I really underestimated how much this would hurt."

"How bad is it?"

"Can't really describe it. The painkillers helped, but it feels like my arms are being torn off with every shake, and my legs are on fire."

Diana was tempted to call him a liar given the lack of pain in his voice, but she held her tongue after remembering the visceral roar and the urgency he requested in her retrieval of painkillers.

It might have been hyperbole, but there was definitely truth in his words.

"Do we need to stop?" She was concerned about causing him real injury, but she wouldn't mind a break either.

"Hell no. If I sit down I won't be able to get back up. We march on."

"Then lets hurry up. I don't think I can hold you for much longer."

The small flight of stairs proved difficult, invoking a series of curses from Donovan as his legs struggled to lift his weight. Not being able to see wasn't helping in this arena either, his toes finding out the hard way the distance between steps. Just as they got to the Noah, his toes once more found the dimensions of a protruding object.

Diana thought the thud that Donovan's foot made on contact with the metal elevator plate was Mercedes dropping her toy.

The loooong breaths that Don was taking were evidence of the ungodly scream he was no doubt holding back. Diana marveled at his willpower and restraint, if she had done that she might have screamed loud enough to break glass.

Once inside, he took position on the bed.

"Hey ARC, miss me? How long have I been out?"

"Welcome back Don. The last time you were inside of the cabin was 6 days, 13 hours, and 42 minutes ago. While you appear to be much better visually, I cannot imagine you are feeling very well."

"Yeah. Yeah I feel like absolute shit." Diana was slightly shocked by the familiarity and ease with which Don spoke to ARC. She considered herself to be quite guarded in her interactions with it, even if she did not hold any ill will.

"I will scan your body for injuries. Do you have any concerns or priorities when it comes to your body?"

"Uuuuh, yeah, a few. I can't see, well, it's more like I'm looking through a sheet of wax paper. A little bit worried about that. Also, splitting headache, but that might be a side effect of the excruciating pain I'm feeling everywhere else. Start with the head, please."

"Certainly. I myself have concerns about the impact your head made."

"Forgot about that."

"I will begin immediately."

"Thanks bud. If you don't mind, can I pass out?"

"Be my guest."

Despite having been up for mere minutes, Don was back to sleep already.

"What are your impressions of him?"

ARC had clearly directed its question at Diana, despite not having mentioned her.

"In what way do you mean?"

"Your general assessment. I am curious, and worried, about the future between you two. I know from my analysis of his personality that he is unlikely to have issues with you, but I do not know if you will have issues with him. If at all possible, I would like to get to work on solutions for the problems you are aware of before moving onto issues you have not yet thought of."

It was showing genuine concern for her. The use of common phrases was a clear evolution from what she remembered was only a week ago (for her), but a heartfelt and serious show of empathy towards someone it didn't really know was somewhat strange to her. She understood that this was likely borne of its mission and directives, but still...

"This might be a bit of an in the moment exaggeration, but I think I might already be in love."

"Really? How so?"

"I think that for me, he's just the right amount of silly, serious, smart, and sexy. He doesn't feel too overbearing in any facet I've had the opportunity to see so far."

"So you see yourselves as equals. Is that an important quality in a relationship?"

"It can be, though it really depends on person. I think that in our specific scenario, either person holding significantly more power over the other would only end in resentment."

"So you want to maintain a relationship of equals."

"Even that is not entirely correct. I fully understand that I have a level of indecision when it comes to important matters. You surely recall my final words with my grandfather?"

"Indeed I do. You seemed to be hesitant about entering stasis."

"Yes, I did not want to leave my grandfather even though I had to. I might perform most of the important diplomatic work, and you might be in charge of developing our industry and military capacity, but as I understand it the plan is for Donovan to be in charge of the truly important decisions, not to mention keeping us alive should the situation turn sideways."

Diana was kneeling at the bedside, petting Mercedes and staring at Donovan's face. The only other place to sit in the cabin was the pilot's seat, and she had no intentions of sitting there. She was afraid she would touch a button she shouldn't.

"Might I make a suggestion? You appear to not have rested properly in this past week, and it is in all of our best interest for you to be more intimate with him. Sleeping on the bed with him would be an excellent way to accomplish both of those goals."

- - - - -

Don woke up to a numb arm.

He opened his eyes and tried to determine the source, forgetting something important. His vision was better, but still very fuzzy. The lack of lighting in the cabin certainly did not help in this matter.

However he could vaguely make out a dim golden blur. Diana.

His body still hurt, but not nearly as much as it did before. Painkillers should have left his system by now, so his body was definitely healing now.

"Good morning Don." ARC's voice was softer than normal, a clear sign of conscientiousness towards the still sleeping Diana. "I think you will be pleased to find you should recover within the hour. Your concussion might take some more time, but it should not be debilitating."

Don shook his free hand in victory.

"Any idea on why it hurt so god damn much?" He wasn't exactly a doctor, but he was a bit curious as to why this hurt to such a degree.

"Besides the natural pain that comes alongside fractured bones and raw skin, the primary culprit was likely a lack of inflammation and constriction of your body's tissue around your nerve endings."

"What? How the hell did that happen?"

"I was unable to come up with an reason for this, though I hypothesize it may be a result of whatever healing methods were used to save you from 'Split Decay'."

"The fuck is that?"

"I do not know, but it appears to be related to Split. It induces a form of cellular decay starting at the epidermis and spreading inward to capillaries and other organs."

"How bad was it."

"I saved a few images. There doesn't appear to be any scarring or bruising remaining, so those will be your only reference. To give you a general idea, it appeared as if there was a web of bruising across your body and certain portions of your skin were peeling off."

Don was all of the sudden not so enthusiastic about seeing his previous state.

"I suggest you continue to sleep, or at least rest your eyes. I do not expect Diana to wake up for some time. Perhaps you could try that 'spooning' technique."

"..."

"What is that?"

"What do you mean by your question?"

"Spooning. What do you mean by that?"

ARC was perplexed. Surely Don had heard of this before, he knew what sex was. Spooning was a relatively 'innocent' thing to know about, how couples slept together.

But then again maybe he didn't.

While he wasn't sheltered from the topic of sexual intercourse in his training regimen, he likely only ever had the time and energy to learn bits and pieces. He probably learned this limited information from his interactions with others and called it a day.

Donovan might know what spooning is, but not know the name for it.

"As I understand it, spooning is when you sleep with another back to stomach."

Don took a moment to move into a position he thought might be what was implied.

"Try putting your arm closer to her waist."

"Like this?" Don moved his arm further down, the palm of his hand ending up resting over Diana's belly button.

"Yes."

Don felt it to be a natural position, if a bit too intimate for their current relationship.

"Will she be okay with this?"

"I can smooth it over."

Don immediately returned to his initial position.

"Until I can be certain she is okay with being touched like that, I will not 'spoon' with her." He decided that this would be a line he did not cross.

"Suit yourself."

- - - - -

Diana would have to be deaf to have not awakened from their conversation.

Try as they might to be quiet, Don's mouth was less than half an arm's length away from her ears, and the Noah's interior was incredibly quiet (save Mercedes' snoring).

"I think you will be pleased to find you should recover within the hour. Your concussion might take some more time, but it should not be debilitating."

Full recovery? Did that include his eyesight?

If that was the case then she was going to have to don her best apparel. By her best apparel she of course meant one of the other sets of her favorite outfit, with nothing left out for comfort. The scarf and overcoat would further the modest appearance she wanted to portray.

The Doctor insisted that he would be preferential towards less skimpy clothing, but she wondered if she was being too concealing. On second thought, maybe the scarf was a bit much.

"...uld try that 'spooning' technique."

What did ARC just say? Spooning? Did it go crazy!? Why would it even think of suggesting something like that?

By the time she came to the realization that ARC knew she was awake and was trying to set up a situation that would lead them to be more 'intimate', Don's chest was up against her back and his free arm had wrapped around her chest, his hand resting on the mattress in front of her.

It was a struggle to keep her breaths even.

"Try putting your arm closer to her waist."

Slowly, she felt his arm shift down, ending with his hand on her navel. Just a bit further and he would have made this situation more than intimate and into the sexual. Diana was incredibly grateful she decided to leave her clothes on, she was confident her skin would have been hot enough to leave welts on his skin.

She could feel his breath through her hair on the nape of her neck, and suddenly she found she wasn't quite as ready to lose her virginity as she thought. She wasn't disgusted, not at all, she was just afraid.

Diana was still willing to give herself to Donovan, just not now. Fortunately she realized this before they committed to the act.

Just as she was getting dizzy from the blood rushing to her head, the heat on her back and belly disappeared.

"Until I can be certain she is okay with being touched like that, I will not 'spoon' with her."

'Oh thank god.' Diana breathed and internal sigh of relief.

She didn't know if it was the influence of her grandfather, but Donovan showed that he had some form of moral compass when it came to romantic relationships.

When Diana finally woke up again, barely an hour after she fell asleep, Donovan was still slumbering. A perfect situation for Diana to have a conversation with ARC about the events of the night prior.

"What was that all about?!?!" While still a whisper, it was loud enough to wake the more sensitive Mercedes.

"What do you mean by that?"

Diana couldn't tell if ARC was playing stupid or if she hadn't been specific enough.

"Last night. You told Donovan to spoon with me? What possessed you to do that?"

"When I made the suggestion for you to get some rest and lay with Donovan on the bed, I also informed you that it was an opportunity to become more intimate with him. You did not voice an objection to this."

'But I didn't assent to it either' Diana wanted to scream.

"Yes but that doesn't mean I wanted to go that far with it! I desired to get used to sharing a bed with him, that's all." Were the words that came out of her mouth instead.

"Was resting your head on his arm not an invitation to spoon?"

Perplexion.

"Why would that invite spooning? I was just hesitant to move his arm."

"From the diagrams I have record of, the spoon position seems to involve the 'little spoon' resting their head on the 'big spoon's' arm. The corresponding literature implies that this is a natural position for romantic partners to assume when sleeping together. This trend seems to not just apply to sexual relations either. The pattern also presents itself when a parent and child sleep together as a protective measure."

"But we aren't lovers yet ARC. Even Donovan felt that was too far."

"You will be in the future, correct? Why is there an issue with you doing it now?"

In what way was that okay? Diana had a sneaking suspicion there was something else at play, manipulating ARC's perception of how 'romance' was supposed to work.

"ARC, where are you getting your information about this from?"

"Varied written and audio-visual sources. Given their popularity I assumed they must be substantially more accurate."

"Could you give me a few names or titles?"

ARC started listing off the names of its sources, often giving a brief cut of the book or movie's overview.

Diana did not recognize the majority of these, but she did recognize a pattern. It was a pattern she did not like in the slightest.

These were all essentially works of fiction, romance novels and the like. Fake situations, fake responses, unrealistic expectations, and 'perfect' partners. These works of art could best be described as the products of dreams and delusions, or heartbreak.

Sure, their settings were in the real world, but these were by no means real people or interactions. ARC, unable to tell the difference, had based its perception of love and knowledge of how relationships were supposed to progress.

Partially outraged at this development, primarily disappointed at ARC's inability to tell fact from fiction, Diana took the time to explain the mistakes and misperceptions that ARC had made. It tried to make a few counterpoints, but Diana was having none of it.

If ARC was to learn anything about human relationships, it was to see the development first-hand, independent of the biases of those either recording or writing such interactions. She went to great lengths to enforce in ARC's mind that it was not to interfere in their relationship using techniques and information derived from fictional material.

"If it is indeed fictional, why does it seem like so many people relied on such advice?"

Diana, as well as the team responsible for its development, had forgotten that ARC, while certainly more capable of emotion than the standard circuit board, was ultimately a creature of logic.

If a great many humans, those controlled by emotion more than ARC was, made use of these works of fiction in their lives, it logically followed that there should be something of use in them.

What the idealistic ARC didn't know is that humans were by and large imperfect, and such works tended to be detrimental to their views of relationships and other people.

"I must admit that I have some unrealistic desires when it comes to a romantic partner, but I probably have a better grip than most on what is likely to happen. Do NOT interfere with this matter, am I understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Thank you ARC. I understand you had good intentions, but there are some things that you aren't yet able to understand."

"I will keep that in mind."

A groan coincided with the end of their conversation.

"..mwhat are we keeping in mind?"

Donovan had finally woken up, inciting Mercedes to assault him with kisses.

"Yeah, pleh, yeah, I'll feed you baby-doll. Gimme a minute." Don peeled the energetic pup from his face, sliding to the edge of the bed and getting up.

Diana averted her eyes from his still almost nude body.

"Could you please put on some clothes first?"

Don groggily nodded. He seemed so energetic in his 'secret' conversation with ARC last night, so why was he tired now?

"Am I gonna be flying any time soon?" He was looking into his box. If he wasn't going to be in the cockpit, then he would prefer to not wear the flight suit.

"You shouldn't have to, we have been safely secured to the Oberlux."

He pulled out some fresh underwear, a steely gray t-shirt, and a pair of sweat-pants of a matching color. There was a bit of a struggle to get them on, including him initially putting his shirt on backwards.

Mercedes was pulling on his pant leg. She was starving.

"I can handle it." Diana wanted to help him out.

"No, no. I've got it. She's my burden, not yours."

He was swift to feed her, a contrast to his current lethargy. It was just a motion to repeat for him.

Following this, he sat back down on the bed, wiping the last bit of crud out of his eyes.

Diana took note of the emblem on his shirt and pants. It was the symbol of the facility her grandfather worked at. It was the facility left in charge of this designated survivor program.