Soon, I, too, fell under the spell of a combat starship commander named Keaton—a tall, slender, reserved blond in a dark blue uniform—after chatting with him over the comms.
The ice-blue icicles of his eagle eyes bored into my face during our first conversation, and a faint smile barely touched his thin lips.
"I don't see any need for us to exchange pilots... It's just that your Dylan... since you complain about his increased lust, which is interfering with the normal functioning of your team..." He looked away, thinking for a moment. "Let him... mmm... participate in our raids on planets where cleanup is needed for special Coalition activities. He'll have a blast like a real man..."
...These words made me tense... Cleanup? From whom?
"What do you mean?"
"From various inconvenient predators..." Keaton narrowed his eyes slyly. "And why do that?"
I was even more perplexed.
"Well, these are... orders from the higher-ups! Why discuss them? If it must be done, then it must be done! Besides, men like to hunt in the wild... exotic creatures."
"But I don't like... hunting," I replied, frowning.
"Have you tried it? No? Then share my fate as an observer. Someone has to evaluate the results of the cleanup."
...How immoral, it seemed to me. A group of soldiers shooting animals in their natural habitat... And for what? Just for fun? How can this even be justified? With what arguments? As a humanist by nature, I strongly disapprove of this... It's wrong and unkind to disrupt the planet's natural balance! I didn't expect such regulations from the Coalition. I don't recall anything like that before.
"You'll see, Taen!" Keaton continued. "Your pilot will calm down a bit in this regard and tone down his ardor if he's fascinated by hunting game! It should be noted that such animals are not particularly useful for research! They interfere with scientists' peaceful work, primarily because they are mortally dangerous! Therefore, they need to be disposed of on clean planets with a mild climate, which are being prepared for the comfortable life of future generations of space explorers.
... Clean planets... They are certainly more pleasant to live on! After our conversation, I spent a long time pondering whether I should offer Dylan such a pastime. And if he agrees, and even with pleasure, how will I feel about him? Will he be able to do such things? Should I condemn him or pretend it doesn't bother me? But something needs to be done... otherwise Dylan will steal Dalla—my favorite adventurer—from me.
Our ships docked soon after, and my pilot, an irrepressible extrovert, rushed with bubbling enthusiasm into the midst of the new group to get acquainted.
To my surprise, there were no female relaxers there... Apparently, guys here easily cope with their natural urges, and Commander Keaton, during a casual conversation with me in his luxurious penthouse, showed no particular interest in me, enthusiastically sharing impressions of the important missions of his illustrious team.
"What planet are you from, Keaton?" I asked eagerly, surprised by his cool reserve.
"I'm a Seymurian, just like you, Taen. My parents are scientists... I just grew up in one of the colonies on a sparsely populated explorer planet."
"But your appearance is a little different..."
"Am I taller?"
"And considerably thinner... your hair is snow-white, skin is even paler, and eyes aren't as big as those of the Seymurians!"
…I clearly embarrassed him with these comparisons...
He found them unflattering...
"You think I'm ugly?" His lips parted in a disappointed grin, and his thin, pale gray eyebrows rose in indignation.
"Well, no... that's not what I meant... You must forgive me, Commander! Handsome, of course, for a man... but there's very little Seymoor in you..."
"Too dull... compared to you? Apparently... my home planet has had such an influence on my appearance! However, that doesn't stop me from having relationships... Some people find me very attractive and sexy!"
...That's the last word I expected to hear from Keaton, who emphasized that he was no stranger to carnal pleasures. Only with men?...
"I didn't notice any women on board..."
He grinned wryly, rolling his eyes.
"Is their presence necessary for love affairs?"
"Well, yes... it's more convenient," I said, a little flustered. "With women, I mean..."
"Do that? I don't see much of a difference! Especially since there's no place for sensitive types among hunters! Do you only have a preference for women?"
"Yes... only with them," I decided to drop the accent right away, to avoid any flirtation on his part.
"But I have other information about you, Commander!
... I wonder where it came from?"
"Some of the shooters on one of our ships told me about their passionate affair with you, Taen!" Keaton smiled mysteriously. "I was so impressed..."
"What? This is some kind of mistake... a misunderstanding," I clumsily began to defend myself. "I don't know any shooter! We actually have a different line of work."