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Trade Winds (Extended)	By : freddo66 Category: +S through Z > Star Blazers Views: 1271 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not either own Star Blazers, nor any of the characters from it, and I am not making any money from this work.

Chapter List
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AN ALTERNATE TALE OF THE STAR FORCE...
STAR BLAZERS-- Trade Winds-Extended (Part 2)
What has gone before: Derek and Nova Wildstar have just gotten married in late 2201. After due preparations, they arrived for their honeymoon in Dominica in the Caribbean and had their wedding night, their very first sweet, adorable time together.
We now rejoin them on the morning of the honeymoon...first day...

I. GOOD MORNING
Earth Federal Preserve
Sunrise Island-Dominica
Portsmouth House Rest and Recreation Facility
December 27, 2201
1050 Hours: Local Time

The dazzling light of the tropical morning shone in through the bedroom window of the bungalow in which Nova and Derek Wildstar were staying in on their honeymoon. Nova, who had borne her husband's name for less than twenty-four hours, awoke in a wide, comfortable king-sized bed in the bedroom, smiling a little as a warm breeze came in through the screened window.
She yawned, stretched, and fell back into the soft bed, savoring a multitude of new and wonderful sensations as she woke up. Nova gazed tenderly at Derek's sleeping form. The light top sheet they shared was down to the middle of his chest, which moved up and down with each peaceful breath. Nova smiled at him as she ran a hand through his dark hair, which was a tousled mess.
"You are so beautiful," crooned Nova softly in a very sleepy voice. "And, God above, you gave me a great time last night on that beach. And on the way back. And in the shower. And on the floor. And in bed. You made me pooped."
Of course, Nova's hair didn't look much better. She paused to brush a stray blond lock out of her brown eyes as she softly kissed Derek on the forehead and snuggled up to him. She held him close, and her slender form quivered with excitement as memories of their long, blissful wedding night poured back into her mind again.
Derek awoke a moment later. The very first thing he saw was his Nova's dear face, framed by a pretty mess of honey-blond hair and a pair of soft shoulders that looked lovely in their simple bareness.
"...good morning, Nova..," he whispered, greeting her with a tender kiss, and then putting his arms around her to pull her so close that he could feel her heart beating inside her chest. With that, Nova shut her eyes, sighed, and placed her head on his chest, discovering that he made a wonderful pillow.

"mm...good morning, Derek," she whispered back. She kissed him, and found again that waking up beside him, right in his arms, was even more beautiful than she had dreamed it would be.
But now, they were very happy that they had the right to be together at last. As they woke up, they savored the togetherness, knowing that for the next few days, they wouldn't have any shipboard schedules to keep or any work to worry about.
They had nothing but each other, and to them, it was wonderful. After a long silence, Derek asked Nova a very silly question.
"Hey...are you happy?"
Nova gave him a surprised little look, as if to say what else would I be right now? but then, she looked into his eyes, and the slow, impish smile that Derek loved so much came to her face. Nova held Derek close and replied, "...yes...of course I'm happy, my love. And I can tell you're happy, too."
"why?"
Nova snuggled him and then murmured a very intimate endearment.
"Hmmm...so what do you propose to do to make me even happier, Nova?"
"Guess, silly. And, if you're awake enough, make ME happy, too?" whispered Nova as she curled her left leg up against him under the sheet.
Derek nodded, adding a grin that made his new bride blush with delight. Nova kicked the covers off the bed and awaited him with a playful light in her eyes....
"So what do you want to do this morning, Nova?"
"The same thing we did last night. Let's try it...side to side this time. C'mon, you."
"Okay.."
Soon, their lips met, and their conversation ceased as they spoke in an even older and more universal language...the language of newlyweds discovering joys that were new, beautiful, unique, and tender...responding to longings that they had enjoyed for the first time only last night.
Derek began by playing with Nova’s breasts again as he lay behind her, kissing her back and the tape of her neck while his swelling member teased her buttocks.
Nova sighed eagerly and she opened her legs as her husband faced her and encouraged her to lay on her back. Derek kissed her lips, then kissed down her neck to her breasts, stopping at each hardened nipple as he made her feel wonderful while he suckled them. Derek loved his bride’s breasts, and in years to come, when they had children, he would love to see his gentle bride nurse them at home. She would often nurse them just as she was dressed now, in the nude, looking adorable as she gave their children her patience and love skin-to-skin after or during bathtime. After kissing Nova’s navel, Derek kissed his way down to her honeyed outer lips, which were growing wet quite rapidly.
Nova moaned softly as her husband kissed her there, and began to run his tongue everywhere, ending up at the very center of her as he teased her clit all over again.
Nova moaned, and then, she said, “ohhh….yes…turn around…I want to reciprocate…”
Derek continued to make Nova feel wonderful, before he changed position and got her between his legs, his member over her mouth. Nova then began to kiss him there as he faced her toes while he began to make her feel wonderful between her legs again.
After several minutes of being suckled by his wife and lover, Derek was close to climax while Nova moaned and enjoyed her own explosion of pleasure under his tongue. Then, he kissed her, withdrew himself from her mouth, and sat on the bed, gently pulling Nova’s almost elfin body into his lap. When there, she leaned against him, opened her legs, and kissed him as she leaned back against him like a gymnast while he took her.
Nova hit her second climax after about two minutes of this while she got sweaty and hot as her toes curled while her husband made love to her, slowly, and then more and more urgently.
Finally, he exploded inside her as she screamed his name again in her third climax.
Then, spent for the moment, they sat there just touching each other, kissing as they went for more. As sleepy as they still were, it was good...very, very good.

Later, the morning crept on in a timeless, slow haze that was, of course, quite unnoticed by Derek and Nova as they lay in each other's arms, tired, but utterly happy and at peace from having done it again a while later.
"Hey, Nova?"
"What, Captain?" Nova replied impishly as she lay sprawled like a lazy cat , still unclothed, on Derek's stomach. "Are you going to ask me if I'm happy again?"
"No, I was wondering about something else."
"About...well...what we spent half the night doing?" asked Nova playfully. "You liked that?"
"Yes. Did you? Was I, uhh?"
"Derek, you were marvelous" said Nova. "But...well...you told me there were others in your life. How was I?"
"Different. VERY different," said Derek. "In a good way...of course...."
"What do you mean, Derek?"
"Well...in different ways...the others I was with...seemed to see that sort of affection as something furtive...something dirty...something nasty. You’re honest with this sort of thing…like you always have been ever since we began to play around and touch in late 2200…before we even did the deed. To you, this isn’t dirty at all, is it?"
"NO! It's not," said Nova firmly. "How it is...depends upon the circumstances, like whether you're married or not…or committed or not. When you are, under such a commitment, two have truly become one."
"Yes," said Derek. "Those other times...the circumstances were different. Not like this...not like you becoming a part of me, and me becoming a part of you...here on our Earth, our beautiful Earth...just like when I promised you when you were ill...like I promised you when...we were going to die together on the Argo, and…"
At that memory, Derek began to cry. Nova just held him and rocked him like a mother with her lost child, saying, "Shhhhhh…we don't need to bring back any more of those sort of memories right now, darling. We're together, and we are at peace….and safe….and that's all that matters. Did you want to ask me something else, Derek?"
"Yeah. Are you hungry?"
"Yes, sort of. And I think you know why, Derek Wildstar."
They both chuckled, because they knew why. Given the circumstances, Derek would've been pretty dense not to know why they were hungry!
In spite of the fact that Derek was nice and warm, and the breeze coming in through the window felt so nice, Nova guessed that she ought to get up and make some breakfast. She kissed Derek on the cheek, and said, "I think there's a light terrycloth cover-up out there in one of our bags, Derek. You go throw it on while I rustle up something light to wear and go cook us some breakfast."
"You don't need to get up, Nova. Stay there and I'll tuck you back in. Then, I'll do my best impression of "Cookies" on the Argo and make us our breakfast."
"Derek, I'm perfectly capable of doing it!"
"Nova, do you think I'm going to have that pretty, mussed-up little head of yours over a hot stove on the first day of our marriage?" replied Derek with honest love in his eyes as he tousled Nova's sweat-dampened blond locks. "You are going to get under that sheet and rest while I cook for us! You are pooped from all of that screwing around we've done in the past twelve hours, right?"
"Right...so??"
"You stay there. Rest."
Derek got up as Nova moved away just a little. Then, he got the top sheet and threw it over his wife, smoothing it over her back, down her legs, and all around her as she continued to lie on her tummy. He finished up by finding the bottom of her foot and tickling the tips of her toes. When Nova laughed and pulled her foot in, he covered it up with the sheet. Then, Derek said, "I'll see you in a bit with breakfast!" He kissed Nova on the forehead after she turned over, and then he bounded out of the room to the combination kitchen-living room, making lots of noise as he went.
Nova lay back and shut her eyes. She couldn't help smiling at her sweet (and almost comical) new husband. As she thought of Derek, she swore to herself that she'd enjoy his breakfast, even if it was a complete disaster...

II. BREAKFAST
Earth Federal Preserve
Sunrise Island-Dominica
Portsmouth House Rest and Recreation Facility
December 27, 2201
1145 Hours: Local Time

As it turned out, Wildstar's breakfast was a complete disaster! When Derek, clad in only a terrycloth wrap that covered his waist and left his trim but muscular chest and legs bare, brought the tray in a few minutes later, Nova smelled a faint whiff of smoke wafting up from under the cover that was over the tray. Nova wondered what she'd find under the round cover when Derek undid the legs on the bed tray and set it on her blanketed lap. With a flourish, Derek pulled up the cover...
...and poor Nova began coughing when a massive cloud of smoke wafted up from the food!
"Uh...DEREK," gasped Nova with a cough as she looked at the food. "Let's see what it is," she said as she tried to fan the smoke away.
The smoke blew all over the room as Nova tried to look at the food, but she was interrupted by a sudden BUZZ from around the ceiling. A red light came on, and something began to bleep incessantly like a ship's klaxon.
Derek's breakfast had set off the smoke alarm!
"DAMNIT! I'd better cover it up!" yelled Derek as he slammed the lid back down over the breakfast. He coughed and grabbed up the tray.
"I'm sorry, Nova! The food will be outside on the (hack)...deck! See you there!
He flew out of the room just as the smoke began to disperse.
Nova lay there shaking her head, and put a hand up to her mouth and began giggling.
POOR Derek! she thought as she lay in their bed laughing, praying that he didn't hear!
A while later, Nova sat outside at a patio table on the deck. She had put on a very short white caftan-like robe trimmed in pink. It had the type of scoop neck she liked in a lot of her dresses, and it came all the way down to her feet, clad in a pink pair of surfer flip-flops that she liked to wear as slippers in warmer weather. Of course, since Derek and she had never had the opportunity until now to relax together like this in the morning in truly warm weather, Derek found his first sight of Nova in warm-weather bedroom wear to be a rather nice revelation, to say the least.
She lifted the cover on the breakfast tray to examine what Derek had made. There were two plates, both of which were covered with the following items of food: two servings of sausage (shriveled and overdone), two servings of blackened toast, two cups of black, thick coffee, two glasses of orange juice, and two bowls of frosted flakes with strawberries. The frosted flakes and the juice were the only things that looked fairly undamaged. As for the rest, Nova wondered if poor Derek had hit the burn rather than the cook button on their food processor! God love you... she thought. I really need to have Chief Rawlings show you how to run toast and sausage through a food processor. At least now, I'm not really hungry anymore... she thought as she finished off the cereal and looked at the food. What I am is nauseous.
Derek appeared at the glass doors just a moment later, wearing a t-shirt, white shorts, thongs, and a very sheepish expression. He looked rather ill.
He watched Nova trying to take a bite of his toast and felt terrible. He came up behind her and tentatively kissed her on the cheek, sort of like a little boy fearfully kissing his mother when he thinks she's mad at him.
"I'm sorry, Nova. I never botched a breakfast like that before," he said, almost in tears. "I never brought anything out of the oven smoking like that before...I used to just burn the toast, especially when I was based on Mars. You can ask Venture if you don't believe me...he was there. I'm so sorry, honey. I really am."
"Don't be depressed. I know you tried...and the thought is what counts. Sit down like a good boy while I talk to you."
"Okay," said Derek, who felt worse, somehow, because his conscience was flashing YOU SCREWED UP, CAPTAIN in nice big neon letters.
"Please don't look so sad," said Nova with a little pat against Wildstar's cheek.
"Right."
"Derek, you know that we have tons of wedding presents back at home."
"I know..."
"All of them are beautiful, and they all cost a lot of money. But face it, we'll never use some of them-and what good are a lot of gifts in a place where two people aren't happy?"
"Nova, what are you getting at?" asked a rather anxious Derek.
"You see what's here on this table? You see all this awful...yes...awful food that's sitting here?"
"Yes..."
"That," said Nova as she held Derek's hand and gazed at him with happy tears in her eyes "...that...is the best wedding present I could've gotten from anyone, because it came from you, as a sweet, simple little gesture of love. That's why this gift will probably outlive everything else we got, Derek. Thank you. You're very sweet!"
An extremely relieved Derek gave Nova a nice, big bear hug. He was very glad she wasn't mad at him. He also knew that if he made her breakfast in bed soon, he'd have to check the cooking time on sausages! So, they sat there on the deck, laughing as they ate Derek's botched breakfast. While they ate, they looked out at the sky, which was nice, clear, and sunny. The strength of the sun made Derek think of something.
"Nova...did you put on sunscreen?"
"Not yet," she said. "I should be all right for a while longer; I have something on...and my bare legs are under the table."
"But part of your shoulders are out...and you've got nothing on your arms. Your skin's so fair..."
"I think I'll survive for five more minutes here in the shade under the eaves," she chuckled. "Then, you can smear sunscreen on me...after I put on appropriate swimwear, of course."
"What's appropriate?"
"You'll see," said Nova with a smile. "Derek, it's a shame you only took up that standing offer to spend some time with me in the sunroom on the Argo once or twice...you know?"
"You know we had work to do...and...well..."
"May I ask you to elaborate?"
"I...well...I didn't feel right about being around when you were lying there in a swimsuit..."
"Even my one-piece?"
"Yeah...being admired by all the guys..."
"And... Go on...?" she teased.
"Well..." he stammered. "I always thought you were cute...and...even though I love the sight of you in a swimsuit...I...I...
"You what?"
Derek couldn't say anything else. He had turned as red as a beet.
Then, Nova giggled. "Oh! I know why NOW, Derek! Bashful about something coming up in your pants, hmmm?"
"I mean...yeah."
"Derek, we have no need to be ashamed of such things now, all right?"
"Yeah..."
"Keep on looking," said Nova dreamily. "And..."
At that, she knelt down before him and they kissed again. Then, they looked into each other's eyes again and began to think of many, many other things...and...the morning stretched on.
Newlyweds...

Later that morning, the two of them were snorkeling out near an anchored speedboat in the ocean not far from shore.
Their equipment was quite minimal.
True to her word, Nova had put on a swimsuit that Derek liked (even though it surprised him, given that she was conservative and usually wore one-piece suits); it was a pink sports bikini, brief, but not so brief that it didn't leave something to the imagination. With it, she wore a black diving mask with a pink snorkel and pink and lime-green swim fins.
Beside her, Derek swam along in a dark red set of bikini briefs, with his own black swim fins and a black mask and snorkel. Around his neck, he wore a small clear waterproof box that contained his instant camera. Nova hadn't brought hers, but she WAS having fun directing Derek with regard to appropriate underwater sights to photograph. She also noticed that he seemed to have fun getting her into many of the pictures.
Near a large hunk of undersea growth, they stopped for a moment. Derek snapped a picture as Nova looked wide-eyed at the unearthly fronds of seaweed drifting in the current. She stopped to stroke a few of the fronds and didn't even seem to mind much when she kicked up, suppressing a little urge to giggle as a bit of the weed brushed the tips of her toes, which were left bare by the light rubber shoe-like part of her swim fin. She didn't mind; the water was so warm that even the seaweed felt nice against her bare skin.
The usually modest young woman (at least given her own usual tastes in clothes) was enjoying more than simply having her toes free to wriggle in the water (even though that was a nice change after all those weeks in her yellow service boots). As Nova felt the currents was over her and watched Derek watching her, she was feeling much more conscious of her body than usual in her bikini, which felt even more non-existent than ever in the water.
A flash made her turn her head. Her eyes went bright at the sight of Derek taking a picture in the shadows, and, again, making sure she was in it. She was tempted to smile, but couldn't, since she'd lose the snorkel she was biting on, and also, incidentally, probably snare one heck of a large amount of water. Too much water, she thought. While I love kissing you, Derek, I'm not in the mood, dear, to get myself in a state where I need to receive the kiss of life after getting seawater forced out of my lungs, thank you.
Suddenly, Nova noticed Derek kicking towards the surface. She followed. They broke the water together at about the same time, clearing their snorkels by reflex before taking deep breaths.
"How was that?" she asked, as both of them treaded water for a moment before taking a few kicks back to the boat with their masks partly up over their brows.
"Nice," said Derek. "But I've always liked diving," he said as he hung on to the gunwale of the boat's stern for a moment before gently putting the camera back on a seat. He climbed up onto the access ladder, against which he leaned while removing his fins.
"Well, if you did...you really should've gone with me to that planet we checked out on the way to Iscandar," said Nova while Derek climbed back into the boat and got a towel to quickly dry his tousled wet mop of dark brown hair.
"Which one?" he asked as Nova climbed up onto the ladder, holding on as one fin came off, followed by the other.
"It was the one we checked out between the time...uhh...we used to explore Beemira and Balan, remember?" said Nova as she shook her head rapidly to get rid of the water and her wet hair fanned out like crazy.
"Hey!" cried Derek. "I'm getting WET!"
"What's wrong with that?" cried Nova. "It's hot out!" she giggled as she shook her head again.
"My wife, the Irish Setter," chuckled Derek as he watched her shaking herself.
Nova frowned at that one, until she got a look at her wet hair. Well, she thought. It is about the right color, especially when it's WET. In response, Nova tiptoed up to him, shook her hair harder, and let out a merry attempt at a bark.
"Why are you doing that?" he cried.
"You wanted me to be a dog," she said with an innocent grin. "Besides, my family once owned a beautiful Irish Setter. She was named Princess."
"What happened to her?
"Lost her in the bombings," said Nova with a sniff. "Of course...you lost more than I did. Now, what were we talking about?"
"A water world," said Wildstar after he tossed Nova his towel.
"Let's see...what was it named?" asked Nova as she innocently stretched out a long leg to dry it off. "Oh! I remember what we named it now!"
"What?"
"Thatcher's Planet...after that guy in the Navigation Group who found it...remember?"
"Oh, that one," said Wildstar. "The one where you came back with the starfish?"
"The new species we discovered," said Nova as she clambered over into the boat with a dancer's grace. She walked past two of the seats, gave Derek a quick smooch, and doffed her mask. Then, not looking at all serious, but looking just like her mere twenty-three years, she sat down on the starboard side beside Derek, put on a pink pair of sunglasses, and merrily put her bare feet up on the dashboard of the boat. "Oh. I've got a dumb question."
"Yeah, Nova?"
"Why are we back in the boat?"
"Ran out of film... that's why..."
"Do you have another cartridge?" she asked.
"I think so," he said. "Let's see..." he said, rummaging around in a storage bin. "Yeah...I've got one."
"Great," said Nova as she stretched before bending down. "What else are you looking for?"
"Film," he said. "We'll be hitting land as soon as we weigh anchor on this vessel."
"Oh. Is the film in your camera?"
"Uh-huh. Found my new cartridge. Why?"
Nova kissed his stomach as he put his arms around her. "Oh...I don't know," she said in all innocence. "Oh! LOOK!" she cried.
"What? Where?" said Wildstar as he looked around, taking his eyes off Nova for a moment.
Good boy... thought Nova with a wicked little grin.
First, she undid her bikini top in a hurry. Then, she slipped out of her bottoms.
Finally, she pushed him into the water.
"HEY!" he yelled when he came up, treading water and sputtering. "Why'd you do that?"
He found out why a moment later. Nova was snapping away with the camera and giggling.
"You're mean!" he protested. "No; you're incorrigible! You'll never stop doing that! Hey...you're also..."
"Naked?" hinted Nova. “Nude? Bare-assed?”
"Yeah. Woww...why’d you just strip?”
“To make you smile. And the water felt so good and warm I wanted to try diving naked. No one here to see but you, right? I used to enjoy running around the beach and swimming naked as a little girl.”
“Yeah…cute….but...why do you keep on doing that other thing?"
"Doing what?" said Nova innocently as she stretched out on her seat to give her husband an unobstructed view of her nakedness as she pulled on her swim fins.
"Setting me up to look stupid in pictures. I swear...every other picture that you have of me will make me look like an utter idiot!"
"But you look so cute that way," cooed Nova. "Come over here while I set up for another shot, and..."
"Okay," said Derek, waiting for Nova to put down the camera.
At just the right moment, he grabbed her hand and pulled her screeching into the ocean.
"Why'd you do that?" snapped Nova when she bobbed up.
"No reason...except maybe to cool you off a little," chuckled Derek.
"Okay, sauce for the goose," said Nova with an evil grin.
She grabbed for his swim trunks in the water and pulled them halfway down then grabbed for the camera again as he jumped up. "Gotcha!" she cried. "Just you and your gear!"
"I'll race ya!" yelled Derek after he took off his swim trunks altogether and threw them playfully at his wife.
"Oooooohh...challenge accepted!" snapped Nova as she threw back the camera, splashed him and swam off.
They declared their race a tie when they got near shore. Nova smiled as she looked at Derek's muscular young form piercing the water. He looked a bit younger than his twenty-three years when wet, and he looked as if he was having the time of his life. They swam together for a bit, holding hands, and exchanged a smooch in the water before parting again as a wave came up.
Suddenly, Nova's gracefulness disappeared for a second as she screeched and began to splash around. Panicked, Wildstar began to swim over like a madman. Thoughts of barracuda, sharks, and poisonous jellyfish ran through his mind, especially when he noticed the look of apprehension on her face.
But a moment later, Nova's expression turned into one of joy. By the time he got there, she was actually smiling as she treaded water again.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Something bumped me," she giggled. "And it was right in a sensitive place. GOD!"
"Well, what?"
"Him," said Nova as Derek noticed a fin running through the water and yelled, "NOVA! Shit! That's a..."
Then, the creature surface right before Wildstar and began to chatter at him, as if to chide him.
"Derek...he's just a dolphin," giggled Nova as Wildstar stared the little blue-grey sea mammal in the face. "Hello," she said softly as the mammal chattered at her.
"Uhh...can't they bite?" said Wildstar.
"No, well at least he doesn't want to. He wants to play, I think!" chuckled Nova as she splashed at the animal, and had her splash returned a second later by a fin.
"Why are you looking at him like that, Derek?"
"I don't believe it...that's all," said Wildstar. "Hey...you ARE friendly," he said as the creature nuzzled against his leg. "Nova, I guess those old mariners' tales are right."
"Which ones?"
"The tales about dolphins," said Derek as he swam along beside his wife and her friend. "Nova, wasn't it said they that they sometimes used to help swimmers and divers in distress in the old days when there were more of them?"
"They did," said Nova, who was stroking the dolphin and looking him over for a moment as she went back in the water, looking like a sea sprite as she floated along unclothed underwater. Derek was a bit more interested in Nova, of course, as he dived in to look at her underwater and then to watch her surfacing with the animal. "Hmm...This one's pretty small, and he doesn't have an ident-tag in his dorsal fin from the breeding program! That means he was born in the wild...and by his age, he must have survived Zordar's attack without any problems."
"Wonderful," said Wildstar, who was grinning himself.
"We should document this," said Nova as she continued to pet the creature with a big smile. "Otherwise, they'll never believe our story back home….and I don’t care if I’m seen naked in the picture, either. It’ll go with the dolphin…after all, he doesn’t have anything on, either!"
"Right. I'll get the camera...good thing I put film in it...before..."
"Before I pulled you in for a swim," giggled Nova.
"Right. I'll be right back," he said as he swam over to Nova and gave her a smooch on the shoulder.
Wildstar found it didn't take long to swim back to the boat. When aboard, he found his camera, back in its enclosure after he had changed the film. He hung it around his neck and swam back into the ocean with Nova, who was having the time of her life innocent and naked with her finny friend.
He dived back into the ocean as Nova splashed and played with the dolphin, submerging again to kiss him. Wildstar swam out to them and stood treading water as Nova hugged the dolphin, looking gorgeous in just her bare skin and swim fins. Derek loved having his cute new bride’s slender nude body in the pictures as a lovely background element for his underwater photography. A wave came up, and Nova submerged and swam back a little, facing the dolphin's snout. As the dolphin came up to the water’s edge, she kissed him right on the snout.
At that moment Wildstar snapped a picture. Then the dolphin swam back and went deeper underwater.
Nova broke the surface (she was good at free-diving) took a deep breath and went back under with the dolphin. There, in the water, Derek also submerged, and he took a beautiful picture of Nova free-diving in the sea with her friend, looking as if she was having the time of her life. The picture turned out to be both sexy and adorable at the same time.
Then, Nova emerged from the sea, and took a deep gulp of air as the dolphin came up with her and chattered. She laughed and waved at the dolphin as he submerged. Nova called, "Goodbye!" as she waved. Derek joined her, calling out "Goodbye!" as the sea creature swam back out into the edge of the lagoon and disappeared into the open sea with a splash of its tail fins.
Derek and Nova hugged in the water for a second, and then Nova said, "Let's swim back to the boat, Derek. I'm getting a little tired out here...and let's get the boat near shore, okay?"
"Okay," said Wildstar. When they reached the boat, Wildstar sat on the deck opening the camera enclosure while Nova went for the anchor. Using the windlass, she weighed anchor, and sat down in the pilot's seat.
While starting the boat, and putting a bare foot on the accelerator, Derek smiled to himself. Wet, or dry, in her current state, she was quite a sight for sore eyes. Soon, the boat was running, heading back for the little dock near the bungalow. Wildstar opened the enclosure, withdrew the instant pictures of Nova with the dolphin, and handed them to her.
"Oh, those are so CUTE!" she said. "Thanks for getting the pictures, Derek. This is fun!"
"You're welcome."
"It'll look so cute in our honeymoon album after we get copies made," said Nova. "Won't it?"
"It sure will," he said, smiling at the first rather pretty picture of Nova giving the dolphin a hug, looking quite carefree with her wet hair going all over the place. "You know, with those bare shoulders, you sort of bear a resemblance to a mermaid in that picture?"
"Sure," said Nova, affectionately slapping him on the arm. "Mermaids had fishtails. I have legs. See?" she grinned, bending them for a minute. “And in that first picture it is very obvious I do not have a fish tail…but a normal human behind and legs…”
“What if we made up a version of that picture where you had a mermaid tail?” mused Derek. “I could scan it into a computer and fix it…”
“That would be cute,” Nova said as she kissed him.
"I'll tell you one thing."
"What?" sang Nova as she turned the helm hard to port while letting up on the boat's throttle as the dock approached.
"You look MUCH better at the helm than Venture. Especially in the nude."
"YOU!" she said, giving him a playful slap on the arm. They both laughed at that as the boat slowed down and Derek clambered up onto the dock with the rope to tie her up.
They got out of the boat, looked at each other, and then looked at the beach.
A minute later, Wildstar grabbed a somewhat wet towel while Nova went back and felt a large beach towel (emblazoned with the logo of Coors' Brewing Co.) that was in the boat.
"Darn...it's still wet," she cried.
"So?" asked Wildstar.
"Derek...I think we should have SOMETHING under us when we lay on the beach...the sand will be hot...and...and," she stammered as Derek came up behind her...
...and literally swept her up off her feet with a giggle.
He placed her on the beach, giving her a kiss as he spread out the towel.
They kissed again. Then, both of them stopped for a moment, glancing at each other with smiles on their faces. Derek gave his wife a questioning look with raised eyebrows, and she responded with a tender smile and a kiss. This time, they got right down to business. Going naked in an isolated place in warm weather had a nice advantage; since they could do their honeymoon thing without any clothes in the way.
Satisfied at the closeness to Nova, Derek moved up a little on the sloping beach, lying down and playfully pulling his bride on top on him. She responded by rubbing tanning lotion up and down his sides; then he took the bottle and placed some lotion on her upper stomach as she giggled. She was ticklish there, too, as it turned out.
When Derek reached Nova's breasts, she put her head back and smiled, appreciating both the warm sun and Derek's touch on her tender skin. She had not run around nude in the sun since she had been young, before the planet bombings, and she was getting to enjoy this. Nova looked down at him through half-closed eyes, smiling as she gazed admiringly at his nude form.
"You look so cute like this," she whispered while teasing his manhood with a soft thigh.
"Like what?" he said.
"Stop being a tease!" Nova playfully slapped him on one thigh. "Nice. I like your...can I talk dirty to you?"
"Go ahead, no one listening but me."
"I like your cute firm butt, Derek. And your big ummmhmmm…. And your eyes. And your nose. And your toes."
"Foot fetish?" he teased.
She made a face at him and kissed him on the nose. Derek grabbed the lotion and began to touch his wife's tush. "I like your bottom too. Ever thought about decorating it?"
"With what?"
"A tattoo...a butterfly on the right cheek would look cute..."
"DEREK!" screeched Nova. "Say that again and I'll pull that sweet hair."
"Ouch! Mercy! Mercy."
"What mercy?" asked Nova as she stretched out on him, putting her leg up in a very sexy position as Derek smiled.
Then, without warning, Nova pounced on her hubby like a cat. She ran her hands over his nipples, teasing them, making them stand up, and then she kissed his most sensitive spot. She kissed him at least three times before she began to run her tongue over him. The stimulation and the sudden, unexpected sight of Nova touching parts of herself (with her legs open and relaxed) caused him to grow against her lips.
"Mmmm," said Nova. "salty…!" She then stopped teasing him with her tongue as she took him all the way into her mouth. Derek was soon rolling around in the sand as Nova lovingly serviced him, touching his shoulders, his nipples, and his flat stomach and navel over and over and over again, driving him mad with pleasure.
She paused to let him breathe, and he gasped, "ready yet?"
"I need you for a bit. Don't know if I'm ready yet."
"Happy to oblige, m'lady."
They switched positions. After a while, during which he had his fingers on her body like a musical instrument, Derek then tenderly and gently began to kiss her lower stomach, going down all the way to Nova’s unclad genitals, which were glistening with desire for him again as he licked her and began giving her the most tender and initimate of kisses. As Derek did her, Nova just gasped and shivered with her legs up in the air while her toes curled.
Finally, Nova’s pleasure increased until she was about to explode. As she was enjoying her climax, Derek pounced on her and entered her, almost making her eyes roll up into her head as he went at her like a ravenous tiger. She put her legs around him and hugged him as he thrust at her again, and again, and again. It didn't take long for her to explode again right there on the wet sand as Nova grabbed at the sand with her fingers and toes, digging in passionate patterns like claw-marks as the surf came up and washed over them like lovers in an old movie.
That felt good. It took the sand off, and, a minute later, like naked castaways, they kissed and rolled in their passion. Then, they fell against each other, and smiled as the water washed over them again, even as Nova was also crying.
“Honey, why are you crying?” Derek whispered.
“Because you make me feel so good,” she whispered back. “I want you to be the only lover I ever have, Derek…”
Derek whispered, “Yes, Nova….I love you to death. I’m so glad that we survived and come home after Trelaina helped us defeat Zordar…”
“So am I, my tenshi,” Nova whispered back. She kissed him and looked happy. They were content, and they were enjoying their passion and love for each other. And, of course, the nude sunbathing.

Later, much later, Nova lay beside Derek on a sunny spot between two folding chairs on the beach (on a fairly dry towel), rubbing more sunscreen on his back.
Their snorkeling gear and fins hung on a palm tree branch some distance back, drying in the sun. Nova had found the sarong she had worn on their wedding night and had dressed again in that. Nova blushed a little as she remembered some of what they had been up to before. We could only act like this by all by ourselves on a desert island, she thought with a smile.
"So, what else do you want to do, today?" asked Derek.
"First, Derek, stop making agendas," said Nova as she adjusted the top of her sarong, making sure it was more or less on right, although she had a passing thought that Derek wouldn't complain if it just fell off and left her naked all over again. She was beginning to think that if everything of theirs had to go into the wash and they had to spend a full day running around in the nude, it might be fun, as long as it didn't rain or something.
"Why?"
"It's a honeymoon. You don't make agendas on a honeymoon, Captain."
"What do you do, then?" asked Derek.
"Enjoy it," she said with a little smile. "I think we need some music, so, I'm going to wade back out to our vessel and get the tape player."
Derek looked on in admiration as Nova skipped back out to the boat and got a portable tape player. She smiled at him, aware that she was being watched, as she ran back with the tape player and a towel.
Nova took a moment to spread the towel out neatly on the sand, plopping down on her stomach as she did so. "Want it on now?"
"Sure."
Nova then turned on the tape player. Some nice, soft but sprightly calypso-flavored guitar and piano music was soon wafting across the beach. Nova was tapping her toes on the towel to the rhythm of the music as Derek sat down, crawled up beside her, and affectionately stroked her leg.
Nova smiled back at her young husband, and shut her eyes, enjoying the feel of the sun on her skin. "This is comfy. Derek...?"
"Yeah."
"I've got an idea. Do you know where the camera is?"
"The camera?" he asked. "Err...why?"
"I'd like you to take a picture of me."
"Like that?" he asked, looking at Nova in her blue, scanty sarong. She had also gotten the idea to stick flowers in her hair, and she went barefoot. Derek thought she looked like a pina colada...tropical and simply gorgeous.
"Like this," she said softly as she put down her canteen and got up, running over to a seawall at the edge of the beach that had the ocean in the background. After looking it over, she turned to him, striking a cute pose with one leg up.
"Okay...but...why?" he asked as he picked up the camera. and ran over towards the tree.
"Derek," she said tenderly. "It's going to be for you, and you alone."
"Hmmm?"
"I want you to have a little reminder of me with you so that when we're apart, you'll always have a little bit of me with you. Okay?"
"Okay, but I'm not sure I feel..."
"Derek...it's just for YOU," she said softly. "Okay?"
"Okay," he replied softly while kissing Nova on the forehead. Afterwards, Wildstar stepped back and took the picture.
Then, Nova smiled at him, jumped off the seawall, and gave him a come-hither look, motioning a finger towards him. “See that little hill over there?” she said.
Derek nodded.
“I’m going to pose again there, for another picture. But this time, I want you to close your eyes until I say so. No peeking!” Nova said as she kissed him.
Derek again nodded and smiled at Nova. She tiptoed off to the hill, and, while Derek had his eyes closed…
Nova, who was barely able to hold back giggles…just stripped all over again.
“Open your eyes!” Nova said.
Derek did so, and smiled when he realized that Nova was sitting in the grass…and she was again naked. She somehow looked very innocent as he took a picture of his bride sitting there looking like that. It looked adorable.
When the second picture came out, he admired it with a very pleased expression on his face. "You look so cute like that," he said as the subject of his picture came up and hugged him, nuzzling playfully at his neck.
"Thanks," whispered Nova. "You'll pardon me...but I like the attention."
"You're blushing again," sang Derek.
"I am?" cried Nova. "Oh! I guess I am," she giggled, looking down at herself to notice that the blush went down quite far. "I never knew I did that before...I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Because I blush so much that it even shows when I'm...not quite dressed," whispered Nova shakily. "Funny...never noticed that before."
"Nova...you look extremely cute like that. Really!"
Nova smiled again, unsure of what to say. Finally, she gave her husband a kiss as she got another idea.
"You look cute in the your little swim briefs, too," whispered Nova as she came up and nibbled at his ear. She snatched away the camera, jumping back before Derek could react.
"Nova?" he asked. "Where are...?"
"SMILE!" she sang as he turned towards her, quite exposed, and obviously, quite happy. Before he could react, Nova pushed the button and captured her husband...in (almost) all of his glory in his extremely brief Speedo trunks.
"NOVA!" he called out as she giggled away. "Why'd you do that...?"
"Easy," she said with a sinister little grin as she took the picture. "You know what I said about keeping mementos of each other?"
"Yeah..?"
"I want to keep one of YOU, for when we have to be apart, too. After all, you look very, VERY nice like this... Derek," she said with a giggle. Then, she smiled. She wasn't blushing any more.
However, Derek was blushing. All over. Boy, is she cute about this..., he thought. I wonder what ELSE she's got in mind for today?
III. SHADOWS OF THE PAST: Derek
Earth Federal Preserve
Sunrise Island-Dominica
Portsmouth House Rest and Recreation Facility
December 29, 2201
1312 Hours: Local Time

The next two days passed for Derek and Nova Wildstar in a romantic haze of sun-drenched happiness. They played volleyball on the beach, swam, went boating, took a few hikes in the jungle, and spent time getting to know each other better in the bungalow. Throughout it all, there was only one rain shower. The rest of the time, the weather remained nice, warm, and sunny, encouraging them to run around in swimwear, shorts and t-shirts, and, naturally, when the mood for romance struck, little or nothing at all as Nova had been hoping. After all, it was just the two of them on this particular island...with no other humans around for quite a few kilometers. Also, as a result, they were getting some nice, light all-over tans.
Now, today was another one of those pleasant, dreamy days. Wildstar was in cutoff shorts and a t-shirt, and Nova was running around in white shorts and a sky blue bikini top. They had just finished lunch in the kitchen with the windows open, and now, they were in the living room of the bungalow, curled up in two of the wicker chairs. To enjoy the living room rug, they were both barefoot; their sandals rested forgotten on the deck outside. They were beginning to think that, per Japanese custom, it would be fun to go shoeless all the time at home together inside the house.
Soon, Nova tiptoed up to sit on Derek's lap for a moment. They snuggled for a while, exchanging a good number of kisses, before Nova said, "When I unpacked some stuff before, I left my guitar out. Would you like me to play you something?"
"Sure," said Derek as Nova gave him a last smooch and flew off to get her guitar. She emerged a minute later carrying a Gibson six-string acoustic guitar with a little flower sticker on the upper part of the guitar body, just to the left of the last few frets of the fingerboard. She plopped down on the love seat, crossed up her left leg as she adjusted the guitar and strummed a few chords, humming softly to herself as she prepared to go into a song. Derek sat down across from her since, having played a little guitar himself when he was younger, he knew that trying to snuggle her right now would interfere with her playing.
"Derek? What would you like to hear?"
"Well, considering we just had some old Beatles on the stereo a while ago and considering how that guy at the reception massacred that song, how's about you try something by them?"
"Okay," said Nova as she sat with her brow furrowed a minute as she strummed chords. Finally, with a smile, she turned her brown eyes straight and began to play the Beatles’ ancient piece, "Here, There, and Everywhere," a rather pretty love song that suited her sweet singing voice quite well. When she was done, she got a little round of applause from Derek that made her blush.
"You were great!" said Derek as he ran over and smooched her.
"No...uhh...I'm not that good, Derek. Really."
"C'mon...you are! Let's hear another one."
"Okay...mind if I do a sad one from the same album? It's just sort of...going through my head right now."
"It's okay...let's hear it," said Derek as he went back to his seat. With a little smile, Nova began to sing another Beatles piece known as “For No One” written by Paul McCartney that went:
Your day breaks: Your mind aches:
You find that all her words of kindness
linger on when she no longer needs you....
She wakes up, she makes up....
Wildstar suddenly looked very, very sad as Nova played on. She looked up, noticing his face, and stopped with a discordant twang as she released her chord. "Derek! What's wrong?"
"Nothing...just...that song."
"What's wrong with it, Derek?" asked Nova as she ran up to his chair with concern showing in her large dark brown eyes.
"Nothing...you sounded like an angel, Nova. It's...well...it just brings back some bad memories."
"Not about us, I hope?"
"No...they're about Diane Henson. I told you about her in 2200..."
Nova sighed. "I know you told me that she used you and dumped you, but you never told me exactly why."
"Well...I didn't want to delve into that part of my past; and, also...I acted like a jerk then, Nova. I was just nineteen, and all I wanted was...well..."
"Most people act like jerks at times when they're that age, Derek. I...well...I did a few jerky things myself at that age. And...well...you were still growing up, even when we met at twenty-one."
"Boy, do I know that," he chuckled. After that, he took a deep breath, and said, "Nova...I know you. You've always said we don't keep secrets. I...guess I won't keep this one, either, " sighed Wildstar. "Nova, do you mind hearing about Diane and I?"
"Not at all...that is...if it won't hurt you too much to tell your story...I think you told me about the breakup once before, but..."
"I never told you all the gory details. All right," said Wildstar as he swallowed hard, motioning Nova over to the love seat. They sat down together, and Derek began with: "It all started in...."

"...The winter of 2197.... It was sometime early in the month of December . It was basketball season then, and Venture got me to come out to see the game with the University of Colorado. You know...the big matchup that still draws people like crazy each year, even today. I don't know if you were into sports or not when you were in college, but it was a really big game, and everyone was really enthusiastic about it. Everyone except me. Just wondering...did you ever make it to one of those games, Nova?"
"Let's just say that we'll get to that point later, Derek," smiled Nova. "Go on."
"I will..." he said, continuing....

Well, again, it went like this...
"Derek," said Venture. "Why are you just sitting there moping?"
"We're up in the nosebleed seats," I replied. "You know you can't see anything from up here."
"We only had to sit up here because we got here so late,"
"YEAH?" I replied. "Well, who told us about the game so late?"
"Well, we argued about it for quite a long time..."
"Mark," I yelled back, "I told you, I didn't want to..."
Then, I remember that a familiar voice yelled, "Hey, what's up, guys?" from the aisle.
"Conroy!" chuckled Venture. "Would you join our little group?"
We both knew Pete Conroy, then, of course. He had been through quite a few classes with us. When he came up to our seat level, he sat down beside us, and grabbed my hand, demanding, "Why so gloomy tonight? Looks like your best friend just died..."
"He didn't," I snapped back. "But if he keeps up this crap, he might be dead before the night's over."
"Boy, aren't you charming tonight?"
"Conroy, leave me ALONE!" I yelled. By this point, I remember that I was getting miffed and just wanted to go back to the dorm.
"What's your problem?" said Venture. "Wildstar, can't you unwind for a while?"
"NO...Not with an astrophysics final coming up..."
"But we have two more weeks to study for it, and I thought you could use some thing to take your mind off classwork. Besides, I thought you liked basketball!" added Venture.
Oh, he was trying so HARD to get me to loosen up! But I just wasn't buying any of it!
"I don't know if he likes basketball or not," smirked Conroy. "But, I'll bet he likes the cheerleaders! Hey, Wildstar..."
"Yeah?" I snapped back.
"Take a look down there," he said. "Now, if you get tired of watching our star Maybank beat the tar out of Colorado, there's always the Comettes to watch...or the Frontierettes."
I groaned. Now, from where we were, we could barely see the game. We could just about see our team, in gold and blue, running around kicking Colorado's butt; Colorado's players wore white with black numbers and gold trim. It was even harder to see the cheerleaders...for our side, or for theirs... Ours wore blue and gold...theirs wore black, white and gold. Because their colors were strange, theirs were closer to us than our own girls were. I know there were about six or seven of them, and they had their backs turned to us, since they were jumping around facing the team to cheer them on. I remember they had on very short, cute skirts in black and gold, cute sweaters that bared their shoulders, and they danced in flat white sandals but looked very cute in them…particularly this one foxy blond with legs that looked a megameter long. .That was one reason I groaned, you see....

"Derek?" said Nova, interrupting Wildstar's story for a moment. "What were the other reasons?"
"What other reasons?"
"The other reasons you groaned when Conroy mentioned the Colorado Frontierettes, silly!" said Nova with a funny little look on her face. She seemed to have something on her mind.
"Well...." he said, pausing while he thought, Wonder why she's so curious? Then he continued.

"...as I was saying, the first reason I groaned was due to the simple fact we couldn't see any of the cheerleaders' faces, since they had their backs turned. There was also a second reason, but it was rather personal. However, Conroy got it out of me when he asked, of course, "Hey Wildstar? Why the long face?"
"I can't see any of them," I replied.
"I know you...that's not the reason," said Venture.
"C'mon..."
"Yeah, c'mon," said Conroy. "What is it?"
"I've been having horrible luck with females lately," I replied.

At that, Nova shook her head sadly in commiseration. However, she let Derek continue.

"YOU?" chortled Conroy. "Hey, we've all heard about you...hotshot! What's a hotshot like you doing having problems like the rest of us mere mortals?"
"I've been hearing that you've been having problems, TOO, Conroy!"
"Yeah? But what about you? What's your love life been like, Wildstar?"
"You don't wanna know, all right?"
"Are you chicken or something?"
"Hey! Grow up!" said Venture, coming unexpectedly to my defense. "He's been through a lot of stuff this week. For one thing, he's been having a hard time with astrophysics, like half of us, and for another thing, he's had his parents on his mind. In case you don't know, Thursday would've been his mother's birthday!"
"Oh, sorry," said Conroy. Like many of my classmates, he knew all about my parents, of course.
"Also, if you want to KNOW," I added sarcastically, "I just asked this cute girl to go out with me, and she refused."
"Who?" said Conroy.
"Samantha Packwood: one of the few girls in our major," said Wildstar. "You know her, a hot-dog Firstie. Loves to fly and wants to get in a fighter and kick the Gamilons’ asses. "
"What line did she give you?" asked Conroy.
"The usual. She said she already had a boyfriend. End of romantic discussion."
"She's right, Wildstar," said Conroy as another set of footsteps came clomping up the bleacher steps. I should have recognized them, but I didn't , all because I was sitting there with my head down.
"She's right?" I said as I vaguely heard the two-minute warning go off to signal the approaching end of the first half. Down below, the first notes of "Chasin' the Angels" from the Iron Eagle soundtrack came up on the PA to accompany the Frontierettes as their side grabbed the ball again, being behind a few points at the moment.
"Yeah. She does have a boyfriend."
"Who?"
"This guy we know over in Bravo Company: Rob Leslie. He's a senior, too. So, you see, she wasn't lying to you. Besides, there's other fish in the sea..."
"They all tell me that," I said.
"He's right," said Venture. "Derek, why worry about a Flight or Combat major? Lots of other girls look much better, for one thing."
"Yeah? Do you think I'd ever get one of those stuck-up science majors you hang around with to look at me? I'd have about as much chance with one of them as I'd have with a nurse...or...with one of those cheerleaders down there...on either side... which is the other reason I don't want to look at them! For me, they're totally unattainable!" I said as I stopped for a minute.
Now, in the background, "Chasin' the Angels" was still playing. The Frontierettes sounded chirpy and cute singing that piece, but it changed a little when it got to the instrumental bridge in the middle of the song. I remember that all of those cheerleaders, who were just singing along, decided to improvise and add some harmony to the guitar part, Nova. Some of them were just going, "Ooooooo...oooo...OOOOHHH," like usual, but, one of them, and I could never figure out who, because ,as I told you, you could barely see those cheerleaders from the nosebleed seats, sounded very different. She, was the one with the really long legs whoever she was, and she was going, "Aaaaahhh...aaaahhhh," over the others, and she sounded rather lonely at that moment, almost as lonely as I felt.
"Wildstar?" said Venture.
"Nothing," I said. "Just that one girl who was singing for a minute. She sounded like an angel, and she'd probably never even look at me, much less....go out with me!"

"Hmmm..." said Nova with a smile on her face, interrupting Derek again for a moment. "So, Derek, you felt that girl would never go out with you?"
"Yeah, and for all I know, we've never even met. I wonder who she was? I never saw her face…but…she had these legs, and this singing voice….wowwwwww!"
"I know who she was," said Nova softly with a sweet grin. "And, well...I've got some news for you."
"Was she one of your friends or something?" said Wildstar, whose heart suddenly went cold at the thought that he had hurt Nova by inadvertently insulting an unknown friend of hers. "Or, did she die in the war?"
"Nope. Let's just say I can tell you exactly who she was and is when you finish telling me about how you met Diane...and how things ended. Okay?"
"Okay. Now, I guessed..."

"...this girl would never go out with me, whomever she was. I didn't have much time to think about that, of course, especially because the owner of the footsteps that I should've recognized came bounding up the steps to us."
"Derek, how are you?" he called.
"ALEX?" I yelled back, surprised that my brother should show up here, of all places. "Alex, what are YOU doing here?"
"I came to see the game, Derek," he replied. "How are you doing..?"
"Fine...I..."
"We're not sure, sir," said Conroy with a laugh, because I had introduced him to my brother before. "A little while ago, he wasn't in such a good mood."
"Conroy," I said through my teeth. "Alex, don't pay any attention to him. He's..."
"It's all right. I've got a suggestion, little brother."
"Yeah?"
"Well, I'll tell you all about it around halftime, when..."
And, at that, the buzzer went off, ending the half. I looked up, and noticed the score was tied.
Everyone began to leave the stands to get drinks, munchies and the like. Venture and Conroy dragged me along, but once we reached the big concession stand, I was separated from the group.
When I got on line, I ran into Alex, who was waiting near a railing. As soon as he saw me, he dragged me off to one side.
"How are you doing?" he asked.
"Great," I replied, lying my can off. "I haven't seen you for a while, and..."
"Derek," he replied, knowing that I was spouting bull. He's always been good at spotting that. The only person in the world who's been able to spot when I'm lying better than my brother Alex was just happens to be you, Nova."

"Thanks," grinned Nova, as she gave Derek a playful little shove.
"Why'd you do that?"
"Do what?" asked Nova with all innocence.
"Shove me?"
"I'm just teasing you," said Nova in a typically appealing little voice. "Go on…go on…" she said, smiling as if she was sitting on some secret.

Wildstar gave a sheepish little grin before he continued. "As Alex was saying...I mean...he said, "I know there's something wrong. What is it?"
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"That look on your face. It's not you. Now, I know this is about the time we commemorate Mother, around her birthday, but I know that's not everything, and I know your friends are...pretty damn observant, even if you try to tell me they're lying. Now, what's up?"
"Alex, I don't have a girlfriend, all right? With those guys razzing me about it, and the way I feel about Mother, and exams coming up, I feel like..."
"I think we can solve that problem in a hurry," said Alex.
"HUH?" I said.
"Now, do you see that girl over there in the line, fifth one up...?"
"The one with the dark red hair? I know her, and she's never talked to me, her name's..."
"Her name's Diane, and she was asking about you earlier," said Alex with a smile. "Funny, she seems to know I'm your brother. How, I don't know...but, she was asking me a few things about you."
"So?"
"I think she wants to meet you. But she's a little too shy to go up and talk to you on her own. How's about it, Derek? How's about going for it?"
"Well, okay," I said. Feeling like an idiot, and knowing that Alex wouldn't play a joke on me, I inched up forward in the line. After a minute or so, when some guys cut out of the line, I found myself behind Diane. I still remember how she looked then; she didn’t wear her cadet uniform to the game.
“What did she wear?” Nova asked.
“She had her red hair in braids, and she wore this short little dress, bare legs, and thong sandals,” Derek said as he recalled how Diane Henson had looked that night. “It’s an outfit you would have looked kind of cute in…maybe….”
“We can discuss that another time,” Nova said. “Go on?”
"Hi," I said after a long minute. "Uhh...aren't you in the other astrophysics section? I hear...he covered the formation of black holes in your class just a little better than Captain Harrison did in our section..."
"Oh?" she said. "I think he did, too...so?"
"Would you like to get together...after the game...to discuss the notes?"
"Sure," she said. "And, I think I'd like to sit down and talk with you, too...you know...talk...about a few other things?” she said with a wink.

"What other things?" purred Nova as she interrupted again.
"Uh...you'll see," said Derek with a blush.
"Oh...I think I 'm starting to get it," said Nova softly. "What happened?"
"Well...to make a long story short, we went to her brother's apartment together right after the game. She had a key, and she said that he wasn't there at the time, given that this was the beginning of a weekend."
"We...started discussing those notes...but that wasn't all we discussed...let's say. To put it delicately...uhhh...errr...we ended up talking about our personal lives. I remembered that she asked me about every person in my astrophysics class, even the ones I didn't like, such as Lance Stovall. a senior everyone hated. The rest of the details aren't important, right now. She...let me kiss her, she kissed back, and soon we were touching like crazy. I felt like I fell into...some kinda Venus Fly Trap or something. Then, she let me...uh...touch her all over the place...after she opened up that little dress and went barefoot…"
"What do you mean?" asked Nova softly.
"You know," Wildstar stammered as he gestured at his upper body for a minute. "Uhh...err...we got naked and went right to third base and then we screwed each other’s brains out…okay?"
"I'm sorry," said Nova softly, but with a tiny smile. "I think I understand. It's something I didn't let you do on our first date several years later," said Nova with a smile. "Let me guess. Is that where you lost your virginity, hon?"
"Uh-huh," said Wildstar with a deep blush. "It was like the story of Samson and Delilah all over again, stupid and sinful me. When that evening was over...I wasn't inexperienced in that sense anymore. Not at all. You know...all the way? And it happened in her brother's apartment, too. I...I..."
"It's all right," said Nova. "It has to happen to everyone sometime...Too bad it happened that way, though...I like the way we did it better...waiting and all. Even though I did let you get to third base after we had our commitment ceremony with each other and got engaged…"
"Yeah," said Derek sadly. "Like I said, I was a jerk, then."
"No...it's too bad it happened that way for you, and Diane, Derek. Go on. How and when did she break it off with you?"
"Are you sure you want to hear this?"
Nova nodded, but then said, "If it's too painful, you don't have to..."
"No, it's...ancient history," sighed Wildstar. But, Nova, it still HURTS... he thought. And it's the last thing I thought I'd ever be discussing with you on our honeymoon.
Then, before he began again, something struck him: namely, the idea that the honeymoon was supposed to be, among other things, a period during which newlyweds got to know each other better...and not merely in the most obvious sense. Nova, you're a counselor, he thought. You've talked to me enough on an informal basis, of course, usually over tea..., and we both know that. You must have a REASON for doing this...

"OK, it was like this," continued Wildstar after a long pause. "I kept on seeing Diane until about May of 2198. Sometimes, it was an off-and-on kind of thing, as we didn't always have time to get together: an old story, as you know. You might know how hard it was in the Space Fighters' Training School to get off-campus for weekends, and how hard it was to find a place to do things, which is why we kept on using her brother's place. She said he had some important job that required him to travel a great deal, so he wasn't often around then. However, she was the kind who always resented it if we couldn't have time together, and it was "my fault", as she put it.
It was as if I didn't have a life...and she was someone who controlled me a great deal, besides. It was always, "You're doing this..." and it was for her own reasons."
There came a night and a time when I wanted to go out with a bunch of people, a bunch of my friends. You know, Venture, Conroy, Hardy...a few others. She didn't want me to go out. It wasn't as if I was breaking a date or anything, because we hadn't made any plans for that night. Finally, I asked her, "What do you want?" and she asked me, "Do you know Lance Stovall?"
I groaned all over again, and not for the first time. For months, she had been mentioned him. And, as you might guess, we never got along. He and his stupid friend Randy Parmon were always riding me during plebe year. Now, these guys were about to graduate, and they still acted as if they were the hottest thing in the world. Of course...well...so did I, then..."

Nova just smiled at him, knowing all too well that many, many people happen to misstate their bad side at times. Right now, she was, as before, more than aware that Derek was engaging in some reconstructionism regarding his own psyche, and she just grinned softly at his understated comment, knowing all too well what he meant, as he had still been that way at twenty-one when SHE had met him, and he was still the prototype hotshot in many aspects even to this day. However, what Stovall and Parmon didn't have, and what Derek possessed in spades, was an something of a basic sense of honor and decency, and Nova certainly knew that.
Derek paused, stammering as if he knew the trap he had fallen into.
"I...well...you know I was pretty bad, then..."
"Go on, Derek. I'm wondering why she was asking about Stovall so much if she was supposed to be dating you."
Wildstar sighed deep within himself, knowing that his rather perceptive newlywed spouse had just hit the nail on the head. "That's the whole point," he said after a long moment. "That's...the whole point of my story, as a matter of fact...Diane..."
"...Was in the habit of asking about Lance Stovall like crazy. They were both engineering majors, and she always wanted to know his whereabouts, and wanted to know...did I ever talk to him, that sort of thing. I'm surprised I didn't catch it then, but a lot of people are dense at seventeen. I sure was.
At any rate, that night, she took me up to her brother's place again, after calling to make sure he was out. The place was in a little apartment building at the edge of the underground Megalopolis, not far from the SFTS grounds, so it wasn't hard to get to. That was always the way of it. She put on this Beatles tape, and we...well...you know. To her, sex was sex, and I didn't know the difference. For both of us, partly because we were in a rush, and partly because she didn't seem to like it all that much. She said it...was like some kind of engineering procedure.
She was nothing...nothing like you. In that respect, you're entirely different. And...boy, did you demonstrate that the past few days," said Derek in a soft voice as Nova turned her face away and blushed, but with a little smile on her face. "And, boy, was she different than me. It was heading for a crash, but it was just the way she did it that hurt, and that's why that song hurts me."
"So, we...were together., right? After we were done, she had me hurry up and get dressed. Then, after all that, the last song on the tape was coming on. It was "For No One," and it began with the words you sang. Then, she got dressed, and she began to just sing that Beatles piece you sang, as if she was joking around..."
"She wakes up...she makes up....she takes her time and
doesn't feel she has to hurry, she no longer needs you..."
"And then, I remember she stopped the little tape player at that point and grinned. It was an evil grin. I remember that, Nova. You know, with you, even your "evil" grins are cute. Diane's grin wasn't cute. It was...just evil. Sadistic...that's the word. It was a sadistic grin," said Derek with a downcast look on his face before continuing.
"Diane?" I asked. "Why are you grinning at that song? That's not funny."
"I've got my reasons, Wildstar," she replied tartly. "And the reason I played that...if you'll pardon my French...that sentimental piece of crap was to give you a message."
"What KIND of message?" I yelled back, both angry and hurt.
At that, a knock came on the door. "Hold on, Lance, dear, I'm coming...," she said as I stood there flabbergasted. She opened the door, and standing there, at the doorway of her damned brother's apartment, with flowers in his damn hand...was Lance Stovall.
"What do YOU want?" I asked.
"Hey, Willdstah," he said. "Yuh get any?"
"What is it to YOU? She's my girlfriend...!!!"
"Not anymore," she said laughingly. "I used you, Derek. I used you to get me the man I wanted. And now, I'm done. Goodbye.," she laughed, blowing me a stinking kiss. "And you've got five seconds to get OUT of here, flyboy!"
"And she means it, dumb head!" said Stovall.
"Who's gonna make me?" I said. "You and what army?"
"How's about my buddies?" taunted Stovall as he yelled, "YO!"
Around the corner of the corridor came two morons I'll never forget...Jim Dangill, who, I hear, died at Pluto... and his best buddy Parmon. They grabbed me by both arms, and Stovall threw a punch into my gut that made me double over like a ruler. Then, Diane, my darling girlfriend, booted that knee of hers into my...you know where..."

Derek paused again as he wiped at his eyes. Nova just sympathetically glanced at Derek's crotch and softly said, "There?"
Wildstar nodded. "Yeah, THERE. Right in my balls…." To her surprise, he stood and dropped his shorts and underwear, and guided her hands to the exact spot.
"There?" said Nova with a sympathetic, gentle look and loving touch. She kissed him there, right on his balls, as if to bless the spot and take away the memory of the pain.
Then, they stopped talking for a bit as Nova smiled, playing with his member. She kissed it, and then, she gently took him in her mouth while she pulled down her own shorts and encouraged her husband to lie on the floor, where she made him feel better by taking him in her mouth while his hands went around her tush and found her magical spot. While she sucked Derek, she pulled his t-shirt up, playing with his chest while she writhed and moaned softly under his loving hands, which paused from their labor only long enough to undo her bikini top and expose her lovely breasts. Finally, Nova wriggled out of her shorts, and she was naked when her husband brought her to a lovely climax again, and she did the same for him.
When their lovemaking was done, Nova laid on Derek’s bare chest, kissing it as she said, "That was HORRIBLE! You didn't give her any reason to do anything THAT drastic!"
"Yeah...I know."
"Well...why didn't you turn in the whole bunch of them for assault?" asked Nova as she pulled off his shorts altogether and left him bottomless. "They could've been kicked out for that, couldn't they?"
“Nova, they had me, too. I once told you that fraternization regs existed for Midshipmen then, as did PDA, namely, Public Display of Affection, even if the whole thing took place off-campus, there were witnesses, and we were caught in the act, so it made it PDA. They told me that if I talked, I walked, too. And, you know something? Those creeps were RIGHT. They had me dead to rights, Nova. And...well...that was why I don't like that song much. Okay?"
"Derek," whispered Nova tenderly as she stroked his hair and he shut his eyes and tried to shake out the memory of his humiliation. "I suffered at the hands of people like them, too. I once told you about those two idiots who liked to ride me horribly when I was a plebe in ROTC, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did, Nova."
"Beast Barracks summer with those guys was horrible. I almost resigned ROTC because of them and their games...but...that's another story, for another time. At any rate, what I went through at University of Colorado was nowhere as bad as what you went through at the SFTS."
Wildstar's eyes widened, knowing that he had met...and married...someone else who had suffered at the hands of fools like his old enemies. "So, you believe me...."
"Of COURSE I do!" cooed Nova. She kissed him tenderly on the check while stroking him and said, "Derek...this makes me think of something else. You remember that I was asking you those questions about the Frontierettes?"
"Yeah...why did you do that?" said Derek in a depressed voice. Nova looked sad as she realized that he wasn't getting very hard. "Did I say something bad about one of them? Was one of them one of your friends or something?"
"No, Derek...there's another reason. Stay there a minute: I'll be right back!"
"Nova?" he asked.
"Just wait," she said as she put down her guitar and left, heading for the bedroom.
Wildstar, still in a morose mood, sat there and waited for a while. Finally, Nova called, "Derek, close your eyes until I say you can open them. Okay?"
"Okay," he said, sitting back again, wondering what Nova was up to. To his surprise, he felt a book being placed in his lap. Then, he felt pages being turned.
"What's that?" he asked.
"My old 2199 yearbook from Colorado, " said Nova. "You have to look at this page first before you look at me again. Just bend down and look at the page when I tell you. Okay?"
"Well...okay," he said, wondering what Nova's elaborate game was. He opened his eyes.
He found himself staring at a color picture of the 2199 Frontierettes cheerleading squad. There were seven cute, perky-looking girls, posed in one of the quads of the underground headquarters of the University of Colorado.
There were a number of names printed below the picture in script, and a number of girls' signatures around the picture. Wildstar read in shock, one of them read, "Nova, sorry you had to leave the squad when you got called up early-Kristin". Another one read, "Now you're going---have a good time and good luck in your endeavors--Sheri."
Derek's eyes fell upon the third girl in the pyramid-like pose. There, smiling a cute smile, and looking as big as life, was Nova at twenty as a member of the squad. As if to confirm this, her name was below the picture in that script type.
Then, Nova said, "You can look up now," and, Derek did so, looking into her big brown eyes, which were just as beautiful on the current twenty-three year old Nova as they had been on the twenty-year old version of her.
"Whoa...you looked just as cute then as you do now," said Derek with an appreciative glance at his beloved.
"I've still got my cheerleader uniform, if you ever want to see me in it."
"Sure!"
"How about now? I think you could use some cheering up, couldn't you?" asked Nova. Before Derek could object, she jumped up and ran off again, shutting the bedroom door behind her.
Wildstar sat with his mind running back down the halls of memory (and getting aroused as he imagined his wife jumping around as a cheerleader) when, a short time later, Nova reappeared in virtually the same classic-looking University of Colorado cheerleader outfit she had been wearing in the school picture.
Once again, Derek's eyes went wide as he watched Nova standing there in her white halter-neck sweater, trimmed with black and gold (complete with her name monogrammed in script on one breast), and short pleated skirt in black and gold with white sandals on her bare feet.
Nova struck a cute pose at the doorway with her gold pom-poms, wiggled her bare toes up in her sandals and said, "You like? I came up with the idea of the squad wearing comfortable white nurse’s sandals in junior year when we couldn’t get white and black saddle shoes anymore due to the rationing…it was either that, or go barefoot," Nova said as she grinned shyly at him before sitting down on the rug near his chair. Then she remembered, “Although, come to think of it, when I was to go up at the top of the pyramid, I did a few games barefoot…see?” Nova said as she found a picture in the yearbook of her up on a pyramid and then leading another cheer…in her bare feet. The picture looked rather cute, and both of them knew some cheerleading squads (like the Dolphins of Pan-Am University in San Diego, Colorado’s rival school) still ha
their cheerleaders doing their routines barefoot, even to this day.
"Boy, you sure were cute, then." said Derek. "Maybe if I had been able to meet you then...?"
"Well, maybe it's because you weren't looking in the right place?" teased Nova. Then, in a more serious tone, she said, "We weren't meant to meet in school, Derek. You know that. We were just from different worlds then. Destiny brought us together at just the right time for each other...for you, when you needed a friend to help you get over Alex's apparent death, and for me, when I was ready to fall in love with someone who...really needed me. Still, isn't it funny how things work out?"
"Yeah, it sure is," said Wildstar. "But...I can't get over the fact that you were standing down there all along on the night I met Diane."
"Derek, you know that song you were talking about?"
"You mean "Chasin' the Angels?""
"Well, I was the one who was singing that night," said Nova.
"Singing?" said a flabbergasted Wildstar.
"The one whose voice you remembered," said Nova. "I was the one going "ahhhhhhhh!" instead of "Ooooooo..." Like that?"
"I...I love that!"
"Good! Derek, get up."
He did so, putting down the book. Then, Nova pulled him down onto the floor beside her. There, they began to hug. Then, Nova looked him straight in the eye and said as she touched his manhood again, "You were wrong, you know."
"About...what?" asked Derek.
"Well...before, you said that you thought you'd never get a cheerleader, Derek Wildstar. When you're done, I expect you to eat those words, Mister! Okay?"
"Believe me, I sure will," said Derek. Wildstar laughed again. And...that's an idea I DON'T mind at all , he thought as he took Nova in his arms, being so eager for her that he just lifted up her skirt with a little flip, noticing with pleasure that she had nothing at all on underneath it.
"I hope you never said "sis boom bah" like this with your Honey showing," chuckled Derek.
"Those little panties they gave me did their job...just barely," said Nova as she let her husband fold her skirt up to her navel. The look of her dressed in a cheerleader outfit but naked from the waist down was both kinky and arousing for her husband.
With a giggle, they fell back down onto the carpet, this time, side by side. Needless to say, Nova had a nice hour proving Derek wrong...and, for once, he didn't mind that at all, thank you very much...

TO BE CONTINUED....
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Trade Winds (Extended)