feel of scrubbing a full head of hair
and letting the showerhead blast his face meanwhile.
Invigorating.
But it was short lived and he turned the
water off. To dry in seconds the shower door closed and a blast of
hot air from all angles removed nearly all dampness. Only hair was
mildly wet, but not so much as to drip.
Exiting the shower, Oliver willed on a pair
of normal pants and went to the sink. On it he filled the basin
with soapy water to begin washing the puzzle cube as needed. It
took ten minutes to make sure every piece was untainted before
grinning as he levitated them into the shower, hit the dryer and
reassembled it all before the door opened. He liked how he could do
it and not need to look. He rather liked knowing telekinesis was
just an extension of his physical form and could feel out without
touching or seeing with his own eyes. He sat the now completely
clean and dry steel cube down to look at himself in the bathroom
mirror.
Dark rings still surrounded tired eyes, but
not as badly as he could last remember. A deep bearded shadow
showed about five days without a shave so he pulled a laser pen
shaver out of the cup that held their toothbrushes and went to work
burning off facial hair. It took two passes to get the jaw baby
smooth. Then he put it down to lift a mechanical toothbrush and
applied minty paste to remove foul breath. Cavities were no longer
an issue with regeneration, but bad breath and clean teeth remained
part of normal hygiene.
Another quick onceover showed he was ready to
meet another day head on. This time though he was much more lucid.
A long sleeved blue shirt covered the torso, but he decided to go
barefoot. He knew he needed to start growing some calluses on his
feet to be healthy. Soft feet could be a hindrance even though he
could change shoe function on a whim. Sometimes challenging the
body was a good idea. Never know when it will be needed.
Oliver put the cube in the
nightstand drawer, sheathed his sword and didn’t forget the empty
barrel before leaving. He took the nearest elevator up to level
one. The bridge. There he found Abdul Krabble, the ship’s first
mate. Abdul had his DNA spliced with that of a jaguar so his body
was covered in brown spotted yellow fur, has higher round ears,
yellow eyes, filed teeth, a cat’s nose accompanied by opaque
whiskers and retractable claws within his fingers. He didn’t have a
tail nor a rearranged skeletal structure, but he was rather
striking to witness. Right now he sat in a chair, feet kicked up on
the helm reading leisurely on a holographic screen. The moment he
heard the elevator open he smiled. “What an unexpected surprise.
Haven’t seen you in a couple weeks, Oliver. I take it Renee’s leash
on you is cut and you finally Fractured?”
“ Hello Abdul.” He was
greeted. “And you are correct. I finally got a somewhat decent
sleep, but I’ve got so much more to catch up on.”
“ I bet.” The man took a hand
off of an oval crystal and the holo-screen disappeared to stand up.
“What have you there?”
“ Oh, when the captain
invited us to dinner that first time he gave us a barrel of mead. I
think it was a week ago we polished it off, but hadn’t thought
about giving it back. Need to do it before I forget again or get
busy.”
“ Jake sure makes some sweet
tasting mead that will get you drunk in no time. I know I’ve had my
fare share of blackouts.” Abdul laughed, showing off his teeth.
“But Jake’s busy and asked me not to let anyone disturb him. You
can leave it behind the first door, in the private lounge, but
don’t pass into his private treasury. I’ll be sure to tell him you
stopped by.”
The captain’s cabin opened in recognizing
Oliver and he did as asked to come right back out saying “Thank
you. Oh, when will we be heading out to Havannah?”
“ When Jake gives the order,
but not much longer I’ll wager. From what I know, Renee asked him
to wait till you Fracture and now that you have, it will