6.3 - Change of Plans

"I want you all to know I don't hold your choice against you." Hunter told the lie with a sniff, gazing down the line of Pilots and Engineers that stood stiff and at attention. The transport ship stood ready, waiting to transport the group of twenty or so back to Orbital Academy. "In this difficult time between the Orbitals, friends and family are what matter most. I wouldn't dream of standing between you and whatever Orbital you truly consider your home." Errisa gave Hunter a sharp look.

Too much. Don't let them know how you feel.

"When this is all over, Orbital Pivot will welcome you back with open arms, those of you who wish to return. I can't promise your jobs will still be available, but you'll find a place here." Which you've got Errisa to thank for. If it were up to me you could stay on Academy, if you love it so much. "The transport is ready to head out. As soon as I have confirmation that Academy has sent out their transport, we'll let you be away."

"Darling." It was eerie to hear his wife's voice in his earpiece when he could see her standing on the opposite end of the hangar. She was smiling at him, transmitting the voice file through her wireless card. "Orbital Academy and Techrider have indicated their transports are ready. If you wait for the others to make the first move, this is never going to get done."

"I've just received word that the transport has left from Academy." Hunter ran a hand through his hair, lying yet again. "So let's get you out and headed back to your Orbitals."

Errisa walked over to him as the two groups filed on to the transports.

"It doesn't have to be so hard, Hunter. You don't have to hate them for their choice." She murmured. She couldn't wrap a consoling arm around him in front of the others, but her presence was comforting. He stared out through the plasticine window into space to avoid looking at her.

"I don't hate them, but the choices they make sure as hell tell me something about them." He kept his gruff voice low enough that no one but Errisa would hear it.

"It's your choice to hate them for it."

"That's not a choice." Hunter snapped. "How else am I supposed to feel when Pivot pilots and workers turn their back on their home to support Academy?" He folded his arms. Errisa stayed quiet as the pair walked out to the control room adjoining the hangar.

"We're receiving communication from Techrider. They're sending out their transport now." Errisa raised an eyebrow at him. "See? They don't even know for sure that you're sending their men and women home, and they're making a goodwill effort to send ours back. And you said they wouldn't let anyone leave."

"Get those transports out." Hunter growled at the admin tech on the controls, ignoring Errisa's words. It's not going to be this easy. Something's wrong. The heavy transports rose from the hangar's floor as the huge bay doors opened, exposing them to the emptiness of space. "What's your name son?"

"Percival, sir." The admin was biting his tongue, but he and his small team at the various panels had no trouble launching the transports. Hunter appreciated the smooth work, and watching them work calmed him.

"I want you to track those ships Percival. Something happens to them, I want to know about it that second."

"I can do that General."

"You don't think they're going to harm transports containing their own people do you? Honestly General." Errisa glanced at Percival as she added the honorific, turning the honorific into an inside joke.

"I don't know Chief Errisa. I think something's amiss. We've been embargoing them for a week, and today is supply day. Auspus isn't the type to just sit back and let that happen. He's going to take some action, I can feel it in my bones." If the child-faced General chose any day to act against Hunter's Orbital, it would be the day set aside for the transfer of supplies. The transfer that, thanks to Hunter, would not be occurring today.

"General Hunter," Percival interjected, "we have a personnel shuttle approaching from Orbital Minera. They're requesting docking clearance. Should I let them dock?" Hunter furrowed his brow.

"We're busy at the moment, who's so important that they think they need clearance to dock right now?"

"General Buramis is on the shuttle, sir."

"We've got transport ships coming in from Techrider and Academy, and now a personnel shuttle from Minera? Unscheduled?" Hunter began to pace back and forth in the small control room. "I don't like this. I don't like the timing of it. What is Buramis doing?"

"General, now you're just being paranoid." Errisa sounded disapproving, but he brushed her off with a wave.

"Percival, give Buramis clearance to land, and then patch me through to Chief Kathryn." Hunter barked. Percival nodded and turned back to the panel.

"Chief Kathryn of Security here."

"Kathryn, General Buramis is going to be landing within the next hour. Whatever guards you have on hand for the Academy and Techrider transfers, I want the same detail ready to receive her."

"Are you sure General? I was under the impression that General Buramis was on our side in our dispute."

"Buramis might take your crazy paranoia as an insult, General." Errisa interjected.

"If you'd like sir, I can have more security on standby, rather than actually meeting her-" Kathryn began, but General Hunter interrupted her by slamming a fist into the control panel next to him.

"By the covenants!" He exploded. "Will everyone stop telling me how at-ease I should be right now? I've gotten through worse scrapes than this by going with my gut, and right now my gut is telling me that something is about to happen. Auspus will try something. Something to make us pay for not sending him his supplies today. It's just a matter of when, and how. Scan that damned ship." He directed his last comment at Percival.

"What-which ship sir?" Percival looked lost, and Hunter waved a hand at the screen that showed the four ships moving between the orbitals.

"Anything! Everything! Any ship that's going to land on my Orbital, I want it scanned before it touches down. Check for explosives, check for pathogens, check for anything you can think to check for."

"Yes sir." General Hunter continued to pace, for a tense thirty minutes, pausing only to double-check when Percival called out that each ship was safe. By the time the wide hangar bay doors opened again to let the transport ships in, he was so tense that the tendons in his shoulders twitched.

"I've routed General Buramis' ship through to Hangar B on deck seven, sir." Percival kept biting at his lip. "And the transports from Academy and Techrider will be pulling into this hangar shortly. Ah, here's Academy now." The Academy transport's blunt nose edged into the hangar, leaving enough room for the other transport which hovered just outside the bay. Techrider's transport slid in next to it, and both set down a little roughly as the hangar bay doors slid shut behind them.

No high-level pilots then, or they'd've stuck the landing better than that. General Hunter mused as he waited for the Hangar to pressurize. Either that or Auspus and Poulay wanted their own people flying their transports.

The Scrubs were moving around the Hangar, which meant it had pressurized. Hunter forced himself to descend the stairway slowly as the heavy doors of the Techrider transport swung open. He felt and heard the squad of security assembling behind him, tense and prepared for an Academy hit team that might ambush him. Instead, a small group of men and women of varying ages emerged. Hunter scrutinized them as they emerged, his eyes flicking to places where there might be guns or other weapons. When he noticed a few children scattered among the group, he let himself relax just a little.

"Welcome to Orbital Pivot." He tried to smile. "Most of you have been here before, but I know some of you are probably here for family. If you'll just follow..." Hunter suddenly realized that he hadn't brought anyone to lead the people to rooms. He shot a guilty glanced over his shoulder at the squadron of security forces. The only other people besides Errisa and the scrubs working on the transports. "...if you'll just follow Percival, in the control room over there, he'll make sure you are taken to your rooms and connected with family you might have on Pivot." Through the glass of the window Hunter could see Percival's eyes widen, and he avoided the poor man's gaze.

"Amanda Plethom, this is Chief of Information Errisa." Hunter's earpiece picked up the communication from Errisa to another Chief, and he smiled at her. "Can you please come to Hangar F on deck three to help some poor people to accommodations and connect them to family."

"Right away Chief Errisa." Amanda responded, as the Techrider group made their way toward the control room. Fewer there than I'd expected. Hunter mused as he watched them go. He turned his attention to the Academy transport, trying to shake the thought from his mind. The Academy transport's door stood open, and Hunter focused on the single man emerging. The man was young, but he walked with brisk confidence down the ramp and towards the General. Hunter watched the man approach with clenched teeth, a vague pounding starting up in his temple.

"General Hunter, I'm a spokesperson for Orbital Academy." The young man spoke in clipped tones. "I'm afraid I must inform you that, although General Auspus made the offer, no engineers of any level made the decision to return. There were also no Academy residents who wished to move to Pivot to rejoin friends or family."

"That's a load of bullshit." General Hunter snarled.

"I'm afraid these are how things stand sir." The rookie seemed respectful but unsurprising by the General's reaction. "Orbital Academy wouldn't force anyone to leave if they wished to stay. I'm sure you understand."

"Oh I understand alright." Hunter snapped.

"It's strange that General Auspus sent you to inform Orbital Pivot of this turn of events in person." Errisa gave the young messenger an appraising look as she spoke. "It seems a waste of manpower when he could've just opened a transmission."

"General Auspus thought that you might be reluctant to release the Academy residents you held, if you didn't see a transport en route."

"Damn right we would've." Hunter crossed his arms. "So you went a decoy ship to make sure we would play fair. I suppose that makes sense, 'cause Pivot is so underhanded, eh?" He didn't wait for the man to answer, instead motioning for security. "Take this man to a secure cell until we're ready to send off the next transport to Academy."

"You're still sending a second transfer?" The man hadn't seemed surprised about his imprisonment, but his eyebrows now rose.

"I'm not punishing the people here who want to go back to Academy." Hunter growled. "They don't need to suffer for General Auspus' underhandedness."

"General Hunter." Chief Kathryn's voice interrupted, and Hunter gave a quick nod to the guards to take Auspus' messenger away. "I've escorted General Buramis to a meeting room sir, she would like to know how much longer you'll make her wait."

"The General and I will be there in thirty minutes Kathryn, we're wrapping up some business here." Errisa answered for him, turning to follow Hunter through the doors of the Hangar bay and into the halls of Pivot.

"Good thinking." Hunter nodded, distracted. "We can use the time to pull up some data files on Minera, see if something's changed. I was spot on about my last suspicion, but there's something else brewing here as well." He barely registered stepping into the elevator that would take him up to his office, and Errisa was quiet at his side. "What is she playing at exactly?" He pondered aloud as the elevator jumped into motion. "What's so important that she wants to do it face to face? It can't be too bad, or else she wouldn't put herself at risk of capture. Maybe she wants to avoid the possibility of Techrider hacking into the comms? But we won't be able to meet like this for every little-" The elevator slowed to a smooth stop, the display indicated that they were between decks four and three. "-what now?"

"I stopped the elevator, dear." Errisa tapped her temple, and Hunter shook his head impatiently.

"Well what did you do that for?"

"My darling, we're not going to spend thirty minutes frantically paging through data that will do us no good. We're going to spend it helping you relax."

"I know we're not likely to find much good in Minera data, but maybe we'll find something that can help." Hunter began, but Errisa simply took his hand in hers and leaned against him.

"You'll get more help by approaching this meeting without the tension you're carrying around."

Hunter opened his mouth to deny her guess, but his head pounded as he did so. He leaned back against the elevator wall, taking a mental inventory for the first time all day. His shoulders were so tight that he could feel each muscle. His head pounded in time with his pulse, which raced, and he realized he hadn't had caffeine in the last twenty-four hours. When he sighed, it sounded foreign to his ears.

"You're right." He grumbled, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. "It's just this whole damn situation...I feel like I'm taking on too much to handle."

"Nonsense." His wife murmured, kissing his neck. "You can handle far more than you realize. You just need to take care of yourself to do that. Now take a deep breath." Hunter breathed, opening his eyes. "Eat this." She popped a caffeine pill between his lips, and he chewed obediently. "And enjoy the next twenty minutes." She stepped back, unsealing her uniform shirt button by button.

"I think I can handle that." Hunter grinned.

"I should think so. You haven't had sex with this frame in years." Errisa shrugged the shirt off, letting it slip from her shoulders.

"Had it been that long?"

"At least." Errisa grinned, and Hunter looked her up and down. His wife usually kept her consciousness in the body that stayed in their room, but she switched to this body for more official work. "What do you think, as good as you remember?" Errisa raised her arms above her head and turned, giving him a look at her topless body. Her long black hair just barely obscured her naked breasts, the faintest hint of pink nipples displayed. This bodyframe had larger breasts than the one that waited for him in his bedroom, and her long hair framed a face that was similar but not an exact match. In theory Hunter could've bought her any number of bodyframes and let her flit through any he preferred, but he liked that she only used these two. It made it more personal, more 'real'.

"The change is nice from time to time." Hunter watched as she turned and bent down, pulling her uniform pants down her legs and exposing her soft backside.

"Does it turn you on, the difference?" Errisa spread her legs and looked at him from between them. Hunter had forgotten that her pussy was bare, clean and pink. "Do you like the thought that this body belongs to your Chief of Information?" She turned, moving so close that he could feel the warmth of her naked body, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Do you like the thought of taking this body, while your wife waits upstairs for you? The thought of your cock wet with your Chief's juices, knowing that your wife will be licking that same cock tonight?" General Hunter wrapped his arms around Errisa, pulling her close to him and crushing her in a strong hug.

"No games, today." He murmured. "No roleplaying or teasing. Right now I need a wife more than I need the thrill of a seductive Chief."

"Oh Hunter." Errisa's body pressed against him as if she had been designed for him. "You don't need a single thing. You can handle anything they throw at you." Hunter felt warm at her words, and he smiled into her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

"Now if you want your wife..." Errisa's voice took on a mischievous tone, and the hand that had been resting on his chest slipped down to run across his skin between the edges of his shirt and pants. Hunter took a deep breath as Errisa rested her head on his shoulder. Her fingertips brushed against his bare skin, and Hunter leaned his head back against the wall of the elevator. When the feelings were almost frustrating rather than relaxing, Errisa reached into his pants and wrapped her fingers around his member. Although he had been surprised by her bareness, Hunter did remember that this frame was much more deft with her fingers. She freed his length from his pants, and he gripped the bar along the edge of the elevator. Errisa kept her fingers still, holding him firmly but not moving.

"Hunter. Relax." She breathed.

"I am relaxed, damnit."

"Your heart rate is 120, and you're gritting your teeth. Do you not remember you can't lie to me?"

Hunter smirked. Some things don't change, even with the change in frames.

"Well what you're doing is definitely helping with my relaxation." He chuckled, and he could feel his wife smiling against his shoulder.

"Not if you keep staying tense like this." She said, lifting her head and planting kisses on his neck. She began scraping her fingernail back and forth across the skin at his base, and Hunter huffed a sigh. They stood there for a moment, he with his eyes closed, her making gentle, near imperceptible motions with her finger. After a few minutes he reached forward, sliding his hand across her bare mound to rub rough fingers against the lips of her sex. As if in answer, Errisa slowly moved her hand up and down his shaft. She still held him firmly, so that as his member grew firmer in her hand, her grip felt tighter against the skin. Hunter murmured, and she increased her pace. Her fingers lightly skimmed across his sensitive head each time she drew them back, and with each small shock of pleasure he focused more on his naked wife next to him. It was enjoyable without being overwhelming, and Hunter enjoyed how well his wife knew how to manipulate his body. His fingers began to grow slick from her juices as he rubbed them across her sex, and glancing down he noticed that her lips had parted, and she was breathing deeply. In concert with his motions, her hips moved back and forth, rubbing her slit against him as if his fingers alone couldn't satisfy her. Hunter cupped his hand and curled his fingers at the same time, pressing her mound with the heel of his hand as he slid his fingers deeper. Even as wet as she was, Errisa was so tight that he could only fit one finger inside her pussy, sliding it deep into her body. She rewarded him with a moan, quiet and wavering.

The elevator was full of the smell of her, sweet and unique. He was so used to the scent of her other body's cum that the aroma was a pleasant surprise. Unaware of his excitement Errisa sped her pace, tugging and sliding up and down his length. Her hand was slippery with Hunter's precum, and it made the motions feel smooth and intense. The pleasure built a pressure in his lower stomach, and he knew Errisa wouldn't make him wait much longer. He curled his finger inside her body, gently exploring the walls of her sex. The heat of her naked frame against him was comforting, and the bucking of her hips was exciting. Errisa whimpered again, her voice coming out in gasps, but she never altered her quick and steady rubbing. Hunter's hips bucked as he came, pushing his finger deep into her pussy while he felt himself shooting his seed into her hand. Errisa slowed but didn't stop her squeezing and sliding, milking every last bit of pleasure and drop of cum from his cock. She moved her hips against his hand the entire time, looking up at him while she did so. Hunter watched her hungrily as the orgasm subsided, leaning once more against the elevator wall. He followed her gaze as she glanced down.

"We'll need to get you a towel or somesuch to clean up that mess-" He began, but Errisa simply raised her hand and began licking his cum from her fingers. Hunter lapsed into silence, grinning, as his wife carefully slid her tongue across her sticky hand. When it was spotless, she took him by the wrist and slid his finger out of her.

"Don't you want a turn?" Hunter asked.

"While I'm glad I took your mind off of it dear..." Errisa paused to take Hunter's wet finger in her mouth, sucking her own juices from it, "...we have a meeting with General Buramis we must get to." The elevator started moving again, and Errisa bent down to gather her discarded uniform. It might have been his imagination, but Hunter could swear she paused for a moment before straightening again, giving him a final chance to appreciate her round butt and glistening sex.

"Well I'm certainly approaching it with less stress." He chuckled.

***

"General Hunter, glad you could meet with me on such short notice." General Buramis sat on the far end of the giant round table, with Kathryn sitting a few seats down. Her body language was defensive and stiff, and her eyes flicked around the room like a caged animal. They're used to wide open rooms on Minera. Hunter noted. This is probably the room that will make her feel the most ill at ease, and me the most easy. Hunter wondered if Kathryn had brought her here for that purpose, to make sure the rugged General was off balance. That kind of consideration was something his Chiefs were good at, and Hunter appreciated that they had that skill.

"I'm not sure what needs to be said in person, General." Hunter settled into his normal seat at the table, opposite from Buramis. Errisa sat on his right, back straight and hands folded in her lap, while Kathryn leaned back in her chair.

"To be honest General Hunter, I'm not here to say anything. Today is supply day, and I want to be at Pivot when we send you the normal minerals shipment."

"Why do you need to be here?" Hunter narrowed his eyes. "You've never needed to be around for them before."

"Mebbe I just feel like it." As the conversation progressed, Buramis seemed more and more at ease, and now she grinned. "Mebbe I felt like lounging in a fancy Pivot room for awhile."

"General Buramis, with all due respect, Orbital Pivot needs more reason than 'I just felt like it'. You can't just come here and not tell us why." Errisa said, but Hunter shook his head. That's beyond your bounds as a Chief, love. Someone will notice you taking on more authority than you should. He made a mental note to speak with her about it later. Besides… Hunter looked critically at Buramis.

Buramis wore a comfortable sleeveless outfit of grey instead of her normal uniform of heavy material with its crisp lines diamond-like lines. Her heavy boots were well suited for trudging through mines or on a surface site, but not visiting another Orbital. She wasn't dressed to impress anyone, she was wearing what she found most comfortable. She's more at home right now than she's been since making General. Hunter realized.

"She can do exactly that." He spoke before Buramis could reply to Errisa. "She can do whatever the hell she wants, because we need her and she knows it." Errisa looked shocked, but Hunter knew he had said the right thing as a wide grin spread over Buramis' brown face.

"You've got it exactly!" She nodded, leaning back and crossing her legs on the meeting table. "It's like I've said General Hunter, you and me, we don't mince words. We tell it like it is."

"Not ones for games, either of us." Hunter nodded, but he didn't smile back. "So, you'll enjoy lording it over us, but you'll still deliver the minerals and you won't deliver to Techrider or Academy. For that, I'll accept whatever gloating you need to do."

"Glad to hear it."

"And perhaps at some point you'll stop being a child about it."

"Oh I wouldn't count on that General." Buramis' grin grew wider, and she dropped a wink at the three of them.

"We'll arrange a room for you to stay as long as you want." General Hunter rose. "If you need anything else, we can arrange to have someone attend to you-"

"I don't want someone to attend to me, I want her." Buramis pointed to Errisa. Hunter paused for a moment, but before he could speak Errisa gave him a brief nod.

"I would be happy to attend to whatever you need, General Buramis." Errisa pulled a small earpiece from her pocket, sliding it across the table to Buramis. "You can reach me with this, any time during the day. I'm afraid I have a rather unique inability to attend to you during the night."

"That's alright, I'd heard you were a synth." Buramis put the piece in her ear. "Now that that matter is settled, shall we move this party to a control center so we can coordinate a minerals shipment?"

***

"I don't fucking like it." General Hunter was pacing again, long strides making up for the fact that this control room was larger than the one before. At the panels in front of him, ten different technicians adjusted controls to manipulate the incoming data. "Stop the scrabbling." He barked, and the techs stilled. "You all know as well as I do this isn't an instrument problem." Staring up at the screen, he counted again, reading off the ships and destinations, knowing it wouldn't change a thing. He pointed from screen to screen as he identified the small blue blips.

"Parts shipments from Pivot to Minera and Basura. Minerals shipments from Minera to Pivot and Basura. Tech shipments from Techrider to Academy and Basura. Pilot and security transfers from Academy to Techrider and Basura. And..." he ground his teeth "...nine extra ship signals. Heading from Academy to Pivot."

"Perhaps they're sending supplies to Pivot after all?" One of the senior techs suggested timidly.

"Moving too fast to be supply ships. Those are either cruisers or dartstyles." Hunter growled. "Give me the time of all the arrivals."

"At their current vector, the Minera shipment will arrive in twenty minutes sir."

"And the Academy ships?"

"Will arrive at Pivot in ten minutes sir."

"Bastards." Hunter nodded, but there was no venom in his words. He wasn't even surprised; he had been waiting for something like this all day.

"Maybe I'm missing something." General Buramis said innocently. "What exactly does this all mean?"

"It means," General Hunter passed a weary hand through his hair, "that Academy is sending a blockade. They're going to keep our mineral shipments from coming through."

***

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