Evolution # 5

A Plan Begins to Shape

XV

Evan approached the male directly without waiting for any introductions from the captain. He was in the process of pouring himself another shot glass full of the tequila. Evan tried not to stare as his gills opened and closed in a rhythmic cadence. The other males in the group were all fully clothed.

"Hi, I'm Evan. Did I hear you say bring on the females?" he asked in earnest. "Do you mean what I think you mean? "

"Oy, what's up sailor man? Whoa bro, you got to take a shot first. Name is Cornwell, I'm a PFC in Unit 14. And in Unit 14, we drink first. Then we talk," he finished as he turned and poured a second shot into a previously used shot glass sitting on the table to his left.

"Sure, I can take one. I'm not much of a drinker, honestly," Evan replied plainly.

"Well, Evan, we will see what we can do about that for you sailor!" Cornwell's volume increased as his excitement grew for the next shot. "What shall we drink to then? Bellamy perhaps? No, hell with that weirdo. Captain Cedar Brunache, then? Yes, let's drink this one for your new friend and my captain. O' Captain, My Captain, down the hatch we go!!" he shouted loudly as he tapped his glass to mine and swallowed the tequila quickly.

Evan swallowed the tequila and felt an awful burning first in the back of his throat and then in his upper chest as the liquid slowly descended through his body. Tequila had never been his favorite, even when he was a bit younger and more likely to be drinking. He set down the shot glass and quickly returned the subject to his concern.
"Thanks Cornwell. Now what about the females you mentioned before?" Evan asked impatiently.

Cornwell had his eyes closed and was singing along with the current song blaring through the speaker, " It's the edge of the world and all of western civilization/ The sun may rise in the East at least it's settled in a final location/ It's understood that Hollywood sells Californication."

He momentarily broke from the song and then responded, "Ahh, yes, the females. So this sailor is interested in the females.........I see. So, when we are partying, we send word over to station 4 to the beautiful ladies to try their best to sneak off their facility to come and party with us. Not an easy task and they don't always make it, but that's half the fun- not knowing until.......poof, like a magic trick......they appear. And then, you know, its' going to be a great night because well, hell, Sailor, they are almost as horny as us,"he bellowed as he laughed and started to pour another shot.

"Wait, how do they get here? I thought the facilities were "locked down" at all times so that you can't get in or out without practically a signed permission slip from Bellamy himself?" Evan asked excitedly.

"Well, that's still true. He's such a ballbuster with the GD rules. But there is an AUV that circulates between the facilities every few hours for trash pickups and the ladies know just when to hop on for the ride over and when to ride back. As long as the Directors or the doctors aren't hopping on for their own late night hookups, they can sneak on and off and nobody knows the difference! It's a beautiful thing when they prance through the hallways, yes indeed, Sailor Evan......" he trailed off as he took another shot.

Just then Lillywhite tapped Evan on his shoulder. "Evan, I see you are making friends quickly."

Evan turned to acknowledge Lillywhite but purposely didn't mention anything that Cornwell had shared with him. He knew Lilywhite would likely instantly alert Slezak and put an end to all of the fun and simultaneously ruin Evan's best chance to re-unite with Lily.

"Yes, just sharing in the Unit 14 celebration. Another successful mission for them." He turned to Cornwell and saluted him.

Cornwell retorted, "Hey, you are saluting the wrong one, Sailor. You salute the captain, not the dipshift PFC. But I'll drink another one for you brother!"

Evan turned and saluted Captain Cedar and then followed Lilywhite back out into the open hallway.

Evan's thoughts instantly turned to Lily and the possibility that perhaps she might be "sneaking" over to find him tonight. His heart skipped quickly and beat against his chest, as he realized that as a worst case, he was now determined to find his way on to the AUV to go find her as soon as he could ditch Lillywhite.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the voice of a really loud tenor singing in Italian. Evan presumed this would be the voice of none other than Mercurio.

Lillywhite shouted ahead, "Stefan, I've brought along our new guest. You ready to meet and greet?"

Although the hallway wasn't perfectly lit, Evan could clearly see a hulking figure approaching them quickly.