I awoke well rested and refreshed after a short but deep sleep. I reflected back on the previous day's adventures and regretted nothing. In fact, I was feeling very comfortable with myself as I prepared for my day.
After taking command I developed a routine I called 'My Patrols'; the crew apparently referred to it as the 'Captain's Prowls'. My Patrols, one in the morning and one later in the day, as workload permitted, consisted of walking the ship from stem to stern, from port to starboard, from keel to radio mast. Actually, I toured the accessible parts of the ship in no particular order. It was a quick way of ensuring things are "ship shape and Bristol fashion" as the old British saying had it. It also allowed me to encounter the crew at their duty stations. This let them know I was paying attention and permitted me to get to know them a little better.
Today, however, I took a little detour into a section of the ship I previously avoided: the sleeping quarters. I never liked to disturb the men as they slept. Before. The new me decided to see what I might see. I was hoping, because of the air conditioning problem, most of the men would not have drawn the privacy curtains around their bunks. And I was correct. I didn't actually shine a light on the men but I did take note that many were above their sheets and wearing skivvies or nothing. Obviously I could not linger to admire the fine forms and intriguing glimpses of genitalia but I did get some titillation.
In the working areas of the ship, I greeted and talked to many of the crew paying more attention to their bodies than in the past. Every time I tried to detect whatever it was that made what Withers had called 'gaydar' ping. I decided when I was halfway though my patrol I didn't have gaydar.
I did have a vivid imagination though and that had me envisioning me having sex with a number of the men, sometimes with several of them at the same time. Needless to say an erect cock was a problem as I proceeded. I attempted to hide my hardon at first but then figured 'to hell with it' and watched to see who paid attention to my cock.
I eventually made my way to the galley to grab a quick breakfast, not bothering with the rigmarole of a special 'captain's mess'. One of the first men I saw was young Baskins.
This was an acid test. How would he act/react?
Like several of the others he said 'good morning, Captain' and that was that. Okay, so we could have a sexual; relationship without disturbing the routine. I grabbed a bowl of freshly sliced fruit and a muffin and made my way to the wardroom for the staff meeting.
I arrived at 0700 on the dot and all the senior officers and division chiefs were waiting for me. The primary focus of the meeting was, of course, the air conditioning. Engineering was trying to manufacture a part to make due until we reached Australia where one of our sister ships had an extra for us. The continued lack of cooling was raising concerns with the computer and communication systems which were at risk of overheating, and overheating was a concern for the crew as well, particularly those whose work kept them in the interior of the ship for their entire shift. It was decided to keep all hatches and portholes open when ever possible, to add two more scuppers to the ones already in use, and, at Withers' suggestion, to relax the dress code to allow the men to wear as little as possible when on internal duty as the individuals chose.
When everyone agreed to the latter, Withers actually winked at me. And I winked back with a broad grin. Several of those around the table saw my expression and looked quizzically at me; I chose not to enlighten them.
I dismissed the meeting and walked with Withers to the communications room to make the ship wide announcements regarding the air conditioning and the actions we were going to take to keep equipment and men as cool as possible until Engineering had solved the problem. The Lieutenant and I then took a circuitous route to the bridge.
"How are you feeling this morning, Captain?" he inquired.
"Surprisingly refreshed, thank you. And you?"
"Great, really great, thank you," he paused and looked at me intently, "Any regrets, sir?"
"Well, I regret no having won the lottery, I regret not being an admiral, I regret not being a better speller," I teased, then lowering my voice, "but do I regret sucking cock and fucking ass? Not one iota."
"Good to hear that, sir. So we need to work on finding you more playthings to expand your repertoire, so to speak."
"And you are going to teach me rimming, if I remember correctly."
He laughed, "No, sir, no need."
"What do you mean, no need?"
"Sir, do you remember last night..."
"Vividly."
"... sucking my cock, and my balls? And then moving lower and shoving your tongue in my ass?"
"Of course," I was a little puzzled as to where he was going.
"Licking my asshole and sticking your tongue in my hole, that, sir, is what is called rimming. You are a natural. No point in my interfering with your technique or trying to teach you more in that area. You did it great as I recall."
"Well, who knew?" I asked rhetorically. We were laughing heartily as we entered the bridge.
All those on duty or coming on looked at us and couldn't help but smiling to see the two most senior officers in such good moods. Okassa asked what we were laughing about.
"A private joke, Lieutenant," I replied, and we turned our attention to the work of the day.
Just before lunch, I announced I was going on a 'Captain's Prowl'. This drew a couple of gasps from the enlisted men on duty, apparently I was not supposed to know he crew's term for these patrols.
