Learning to Dance

thinking too much.”
“That’s not your problem,” he said, and she glared at
him. He tried not to draw back from the ferocity he saw
there.
It took four more late night sessions before she got a hit
in, but that was more than any ensign had ever managed. It
wasn’t a hard hit, but Up rubbed his shoulder anyway.
“Good,” he said. “Now do it again.”
Up’s rank and reputation kept any sass about his “pet” to
a minimum when he was around, but he heard the whispers
begin once he’d walk away, and he knew Taz did too. She
kept to her bunk a lot, venturing out only for meals and to
watch him at training. Her constant gaze made him nervous,
but he didn’t let on. The ensigns were barely opponents at
all – he wondered whether she’d still think him such a
marvellous fighter when he was evenly matched.
Taz had been on the ship a week and was waiting in line
in the mess hall when a drunk midshipman accosted her. Up
had already gotten his food and was on his way to sit down
when he heard the exchange.
“Hello, gorgeous,” the midshipman slurred. “Why don’t
you take a break from the old man for awhile? Give us a
spin, eh?”
Up looked over his shoulder. Taz took a step back as the
midshipman leered closer.
“Yes, you are a pretty one, aren’t you? What I could do
with that-”
She punched him, a good one, in the nose. Up was
halfway there as the midshipman staggered backward.
“Stupid whore!” he called through a stream of blood, but
faltered when he saw Lieutenant Up standing over him. The
whole hall was silent.
“Here’s what you’re going to do, Ranger,” he said, in a
dark and quiet voice. “You’re going to turn around, walk