”That was enough time for a shower—30 seconds each. Sex would have to wait. We took up our crew stations. The new girl was sitting at a blank cont...rol panel. Modern star ship control panels are configurable “smart boards” that can be worked so that a pilot trained on one configuration can pilot a strange star ship using the familiar controls of the last ship piloted.“First Officer,” Captain Manchester addressed me formally, despite the fact that everybody on the bridge was nude—nude and bald. No. I opened one of the cans and handed it to her before opening the other for myself. ‘It’s really good to see you,’ she told me. ‘Yeah, it’s great seeing you too,’ I returned, still wondering why she had contacted me. And not being one to beat around the bush, I stated, ‘I heard you got married.’ ‘Uh-huh,’ she replied as she tipped the beer to get a drink. ‘But, I’m not going to stay with that bastard,’ she informed me. Continuing, she filled me in about how he’d gotten pretty rough with her a. ”“How far away was this campground,” Kyle asked.“It was about sixty miles. Just far enough away that we’d be away from everyone we knew. We got there, parked, set up everything, and after grilling some burgers and playing frisbee in the grassy area next to the campsite. As the sun began to set, we started a campfire and sat down to enjoy the fire. The night was awesome, not a cloud in the sky. The moonless night made the stars all the brighter, and we even seen a few shooting stars. I had. "Jen, is there no way that I can change your mind? I know that I don't have much of a leg to stand on, since my son has been such a selfish pig, but he's not all bad, once he's straightened up and flown right. He should have married you already. I mean, goodness look at you, you're a gorgeous young woman! I'm very sorry that my son has acted like this, but that's why I've been trying to get him to man up and face what he is now ... a father. I admit that I have an ulterior motive, though, of.