Shadow War

Baird grumbled loudly, picking bits of rock and a few miscellaneous pieces of desert reptile that had gotten stuck on the axle when the left rear tire of the middle derrick had mysteriously decided to migrate off of the hub and onto the desert floor. Having done so in one piece would have been a minor headache, but the tire had chosen instead to separate treads first and everything else in a messy tangle afterward, trailing behind like a baseball that had just been knocked out of its covering. Not that he did not welcome the respite from Cole's sadistic driving style, and the chance to have a decent bowel movement (which had left the Sargent in a much better mood), however they were now stuck half way between their origin and destination with several hours of work ahead of him. Honestly, was he the only one who had actually learned how to fix things?

He was sorely tempted to use his lancer to cut through the mess of steel-belts that had tangled up into a ball after the tread had left it. It may have been satisfying, however it would have made his job even harder, so he settled for a pair of wire cutters he had fished out of the storage compartment. It had taken him all of half an hour just to get the mess off of the hub. Now came the fun part, hammering the thing back into shape so that it would hold a new tire without that one flying off and bouncing into the sunset. That, as it turned out, was a job for Epsilon. Baird did not question the reason, he was just glad he would not have to hammer the massive hub back into shape by himself.

He hung back toward the rear derrick. Cole was enjoying the respite, taking his armor off and washing the inside of sweat and dirt that had accumulated there. His undershirt was off and drying on a nearby line while he washed his chest and arms. Though he made a show out of it, like he did everything else by flexing his muscles as he washed the dirt off of his body. Several young women were busy watching with rapt attention as Cole turned his front from view and washed everything below the belt. Despite him rolling his eyes at the show, Baird had to admit that a bath sounded wonderful. There were several atmospheric water generators on board the derricks that had filled 65 gallon barrels full of sparkling clean water.

Baird decided that he liked the idea of clean armor and headed up the ladder to the middle derrick, since Cole was using the water from the rear derrick. He descended into the body and made his way to the back of the derrick toward the water generator, unbuckling the straps on his armor with each step. He was so eager, he did not notice a small, slender form following close behind him, her right hand behind her back. Just as Baird lifted his armor over his head, a pair of hands crept around his middle and latched onto his belt buckle. He threw his armor down and spun around, holding his would be assailant in his thick arms. Though he had to blink a couple of times to register that it was Raine he was holding in his arms. She giggled up at him, her arms still pinned by his. "Did I scare you?"

Baird shifted his eyes around the interior of the derrick, almost expecting Raine's father to come out of the shadows with a lancer trained on him. "A little," he lied, loosening his grip around her until he had his arms around the small of her back. "Come to watch me play in the water," he asked, stirring his hand in the cool water of the storage barrel, splashing Raine with stray droplets.

Raine smiled even brighter as she held up the rag she had made from some of her more beat up clothing. "Actually, I came here to give you a good rub-down." Baird could swear he heard more than just her wanting to give him a bath, but he wouldn't force the issue. Besides, who was he to refuse a lovely young woman wanting to bathe him? He smirked as she started undoing the wide belt at his hips as he lifted the shirt off of himself. She dipped the rag in the water and laid it on his chest, washing the dirt and grime that had clung to the sweat on his skin. She wasn't too worried about getting the water dirty since it could be recycled before drinking. She took his shirt and washed it, hanging it to dry over a line used as a divider for the men and women sleeping inside. She gave his armor the same treatment until the metal squeaked with her scrubbing.

Baird had busied himself taking off his pants and boots. He had learned to live without underwear during his training since trying to straighten the material out after hard running left him feeling very uncomfortable. At least this way, his skin could breathe and they all got less of the chafing that came with screwing around with undergarments that soaked up all the sweat and stuck to their skin. He dipped his pants into the water and scrubbed until all the dirt clods sank to the bottom of the barrel, his pants returning to their original gray. He was busy washing his boots when Raine came from behind and laid the wet rag on his back. She giggled as he hissed in surprise, his muscles unclenching as he got used to the cool water running down his rear. If he didn't know any better, Baird would have thought she was teasing him.

He hung his boots upside down on the line and turned around, catching her wrists in his hands. A slow, sly smile spread across his face as he took the rag from her. He dipped it into the barrel behind him and gently wiped the dirt that had stuck to her face. She was guided to he barrel and he leaned her back so that he could wash her hair. His muscled arms held her as he massaged her scalp, drawing a contented sigh from her as she closed her eyes. Baird took advantage and lowered his lips to hers. He was surprised by the force she used to kiss him back, gripping his spiked hair in her hand as she straightened up. She pulled away from him, her lips glistening and swollen. She laid her finger on his lips as she took the rag back and resumed washing his body.

Baird was already keyed up from the kiss and Raine tortured him with her slow bathing of his skin. They continued washing each other with the rag, Baird slowly removing the overalls Raine wore, running the rag over her sun kissed skin. The rag dropped to the floor, all but forgotten as Baird wrapped his thickly muscled arms around Raine and lifted her to her tip toes as they lost themselves in the kiss. Raine kicked her overalls off of her feet followed by her boxers and bra, wrapping her arms around Baird's shoulders and jumping into his embrace as she continued the kiss she had broken. Both fumbled their way to one of the cots that lined the walls and sank onto the poorly cushioned mattress, springs squeaking under them. Neither seemed to care as Raine reached between them to guide their bodies together.

Baird had just slid the tip of his painfully turgid member into her body when he heard the unmistakable sound of fully automatic gun fire. "Shit!" Both Baird and Raine jumped up from the cot, Raine helping Baird back into his still wet armor, tying his boots within the space of a few seconds. He hefted his lancer in one hand and drew Raine in for one last kiss before he ran to the ladder and practically threw himself out of the interior of the derrick. Raine watched him go, searing anger boiling in her chest as she kicked the drum of water, not caring how much it hurt.