Fortunately, the medic wasn't a critical position, and there were plenty of standby personnel. Brittany stayed by Lübeck's side all afternoon, and her reassignment was quickly finalized. She returned to her original room to pack her belongings and move them to Lübeck's quarters.
好在医务兵不是什么重要岗位,有很多预备人员,一下午布列塔尼都跟在吕贝克的身边,她的调动工作也很快完成了,回去自己原来的房间把她的生活用品搬到吕贝克的房间.
Lübeck had no desire to linger over official duties; when there was nothing left to do, he clocked out on time. Opening his door, he caught sight of Brittany arranging her personal belongings. The scene before him seemed like a replay of what had happened two months earlier. How many times in a lifetime could one hope for such cherished moments to return?
吕贝克也不想贪恋公务,没有什么事情就到点下班了,打开房间门正看见布列塔尼在安放她的个人物品,眼前这一幕仿佛两个月前的情景重现,一生中能有几次让人所期盼的时光能够重现呢?
Lübeck entered the room and closed the door behind him, intercepting Brittany as she bustled about. He took her hand and drew her to stand before him, gazing into her eyes and studying her face as if examining whether she had been harmed during the time he'd lost her, whether she had changed, whether she was no longer the person she once was.
吕贝克走进房间带上门,拦住了正在忙碌的布列塔尼,拉着她的手站在自己面前,望着她的眼睛,打量她的面容,仿佛在查看自己失去她的这段时间里,她有没有受到伤害,她有没有改变了,不再是那个原来的她了,
"Captain Lübeck, what's wrong?" Brittany asked softly.
"吕贝克舰长,怎么了?"布列塔尼轻声地问,
"I thought I'd never see you again."
"我以为再也见不到你了,"
Brittany said nothing, throwing herself into Lübeck's arms.
布列塔尼什么也没说,一头扑在了吕贝克的怀里,
Lübeck clasped her arms tightly, covering her mouth and nose, but she still murmured through her lips,
"Me too," then lifted her head to look at Lübeck,
"Tell me when you changed your mind?"
吕贝克的紧搂着她臂膀遮住了她的口鼻,但是她依然在嘴里呢喃着说,
"我也是,"说完抬起头望着吕贝克,
"告诉我你是什么时候改变主意的?"
When they asked me to choose a partner, I inquired about your situation, and they said you'd been assigned to another unit.
"他们让我选伴侣的时候,我问到你的情况,他们说你被派去别的部队了,"
"Huh? Why did you make me wait so long?" Brittany said, wiggling her body as she punched Lübeck's shoulder twice with clenched fists, her tone a mix of reproach and playful pouting.
"嗯咦,你为什么让我等这么久?"说着布列塔尼扭动着身体,用手攥拳锤了吕贝克肩膀两下,好像是埋怨又有些撒娇的样子,
"Sorry, I've actually been unable to let go of you all this time."
"抱歉,其实我心里一直有些放不下你,"
"Then why? Oh, you're missing your ex-wife, aren't you?"
"那你为什么?哦,你是在思念你的前妻,是吗?"
Yeah, sorry. I didn't want to forget her, so I didn't erase the memory. We made a promise—she'd find me again in the next life. Only, I don't know where she is or when. Truth is, I've been trying to find traces of her in you all along. But, heh, it's kind of funny—I'm not even sure if you are her.
"是啊,抱歉我不想忘记她,所以没有抹除记忆,我和她有约,来生她再来找到我,只是,我不知道她在哪,什么时候,其实我一直在试图从你身上找到她的影子,只是,呵呵,这有些好笑,我也不确定你是不是她,"
"Oh," Brittany replied without saying anything, clearly deep in thought.
"Then what if I'm not her?"
"哦,"布列塔尼答应着,没有说什么,显然是在思索着什么,
"那么,如果我不是她呢?"
None of that matters anymore. You are who you are, and I realize I care about you too.
"这都不重要了,你就是你,我发现我也在乎你,"
"Mm," Brittany buried her head in Lübeck's embrace once more, seeming to relax.
"嗯,"布列塔尼又把她的头埋在了吕贝克的怀里,似乎是放下心来了,
"Let's go for a walk. It'll be dinner time soon."
"我们出去走走吧,晚饭时间快要到了,"
"Alright,"
"好,"
Mars has almost no atmosphere, so the base personnel must remain inside the base structures and rarely venture outside for work unless absolutely necessary.
火星上几乎没有大气,所以基地的人们只能呆在基地建筑内部,没有必要的情况下几乎没有外出作业.
Lübeck wrapped his arm around Brittany's waist as they walked along the corridor window toward the dining hall. Today was a clear day, offering exceptional visibility through the Martian atmosphere—though all they could see were endless stretches of red rock and gravel, a desolate landscape. Little did Earth's inhabitants know that within this Martian wasteland, a base operated by humans of their own kind was already active.
吕贝克搂着布列塔尼的腰,沿着走廊的窗边走向餐厅的方向,今天是个晴天,火星大气能见度特别好,只不过都是些红色的岩石沙砾,一望无际的荒凉,而地球上的人并不知道,在火星的荒凉里,已经有了与他们相同种族人类的基地在运作.
The food at the base mess hall couldn't compare to the rehabilitation center's—it wasn't as refined—but the officers' mess still offered a bountiful spread. Yet Lübeck no longer harbored any prejudice against her freeloading on the officers' meals. Thinking back to all those midday meals she'd sacrificed just to see him again, he felt a pang of pity for her.
驻地餐厅的伙食就不能和康复中心相比了,没有那么精细,但是军官餐厅依然丰盛.但是吕贝克对于她蹭军官餐厅美食的偏见已经没有了,想想之前那么多个中午她都牺牲了她自己的午饭,只为了再次见到自己,他都感到心疼她.
But halfway there, Brittany suddenly had an idea and said,
"You treated me to lunch today, so how about I treat you to dinner tonight?"
可是走到半路,布列塔尼突发奇想说,
"中午是你请我吃饭,晚上我请你好吗?"
"Oh? Sure,"
"哦?好啊,"
As the senior officer approached the soldiers' mess hall, he immediately drew the attention of many. Lübeck could only nod and smile in greeting to each person in turn. He also noticed that these soldiers were all teenagers and young adults in their twenties. Judging by their demeanor and attire, some were conservative, some fashionable, and others cyberpunk. Brittany seemed to relish the attention, striding ahead and pulling Lübeck along behind her.
当一位高级军官走近了士兵餐厅,立刻引来了众多目光关注,吕贝克只好逐个点头微笑致意,他也注意到了,这些士兵都是十几二十岁的年轻人,看气质和装束,有保守的,有时尚的,也有赛博朋克的.布列塔尼似乎很享受众人的瞩目,快步走在前面拉着后面的吕贝克.
But their dinner quickly transformed from an ordinary meal into a Cinderella reality show. Before long, soldiers from Lübeck's unit recognized their captain, and wave after wave of people seeking photos began to arrive. While Lübeck politely obliged the young men, finishing his meal, he glanced at the radiant happiness on Brittany's face and thought to himself: This isn't just a dinner invitation—it's clearly an attempt to publicly declare our relationship.
但是两人的晚餐很快就从平常一餐变成了灰姑娘真人秀,没一会儿就有吕贝克部队的士兵认出了他们的舰长,一波一波的求合影的人就接踵而至.吕贝克一边不时地应酬着这些年轻人,一边吃完饭,再看看布列塔尼脸上洋溢的幸福,心想,这不是请我吃晚饭啊,这分明是要和我公开确立关系.
After an exceptionally lively dinner, the two left the restaurant and began walking back down the corridor. Outside, it was already pitch black, with only the dim, yellow and red lights of various base facilities providing faint illumination. Yet the corridors within the base were unusually brightly lit—perhaps to maintain a pleasant mood for those confined within the enclosed space.
吃过了一顿异常热闹的晚饭,两个人离开餐厅开始沿着走廊往回走,外面已经全黑了,只有黄的,红的各种基地设施灯光,昏幽暗淡,但是基地内的走廊照明异常明亮,或许是为了保持封闭空间里人员的舒畅心情吧.
After returning to the room from their walk, their stomachs were nearly empty. Brittany had long noticed the multi-gym in Lübeck's suite, designed for muscle training in low-gravity environments. Pointing at it, she asked, "Can I use this? I haven't done my physical training for the day yet."
经过散步回到房间里,胃里的食物也差不多清空了,布列塔尼早就留意到吕贝克的套房里有综合训练器用于低重力环境肌肉训练,便指着问,我可以用吗?我今天的体能训练还没做.
"Certainly," Lübeck replied, then sat down to review the documentation for his new ship, occasionally glancing up at Brittany. Although Lübeck had previously commanded the same model of space carrier, upon opening the new documentation he discovered significant changes to the vessel he was now taking command of. It appeared to be an upgraded variant of the original design—essentially a new class altogether. It featured larger hangars and flight decks, but most importantly, an internal biosphere self-sustaining system had been established within the ship. Consequently, this crew included a contingent of botanists, zoologists, and livestock handlers.
"当然可以,"说完,吕贝克坐在了一边,一边翻阅自己新船的资料一边不时抬头看看布列塔尼.虽然吕贝克之前也指挥过同型号空天母船,但是当他翻开自己拿到的新资料他发现自己接受的这艘船比之前的有了较大变化,应该是原来基础上的改进型,可以说是一个新的级别了,有更大的机库和甲板,最重要的是在舰船内部建立了生物圈自持系统,所以这一次的船员里有一批动植物学家以及农民饲养员.
Aren't male and female partners also part of the ecosystem? With this thought, Lübeck looked up at Brittany. He hadn't noticed when she'd taken off her uniform jacket and tossed it aside. A red sweatband held her hair back at her forehead, revealing a light gray uniform undershirt. Sweat dampened her collar and armpits, the form-fitting fabric accentuating the curves of her figure.
男女伴侣不也是生态的一部分吗?想到这,吕贝克抬起头望向布列塔尼,不知道什么时候她已经把制服外套脱了扔在一边,用一条红色的运动头带勒住额头和头发,身着一套淡灰色制服内衣,汗水已经湿了她的领口和腋窝,贴身的内衣很好地体现了她身材的曲线.
Yet Lübeck felt no restlessness. Was he growing old? He wondered, but hadn't he just reversed his age? His body was now functioning at 25. Why then was there no sexual urge? Could it be he didn't physically desire her? But surely, when he first saw her, he had felt excitement. Why was he so calm now? Could it be that she already belonged to him? Was passion extinguished without suspense? Or had decades of experience dulled his anticipation for such matters? Had he missed out on the freshness of new beginnings by choosing not to erase his memories? Yet erasing them meant forgetting Ruth forever—and where was she now? Lübeck began to wonder if his fear of loss had driven him to choose Brittany.
可是吕贝克却没有躁动的感觉,是自己老了?他也在疑惑,可是才逆转过年龄啊,现在正好是25岁的身体机能,可是为什么没有性的冲动呢?难道是自己没有生理上的爱她?可是,明明第一天见到她的时候的确有兴奋的感觉,为什么现在这么的平静呢?难道是,她已经属于我了,没有悬念就没有激情了吗?或者是过去的几十年,已经对男女之事不再期待什么了?自己没有选择抹去记忆,是不是少了些新生的新鲜感?可是抹去记忆就意味着自己永远忘记了露丝,可她现在又在哪里呢?吕贝克开始怀疑,是不是自己怕失去,才会选择了布列塔尼.
"Erich, are you going to use this equipment?" Brittany asked Lübeck from across the room.
"埃里希,你要使用这个器材吗?"布列塔尼在房间另一边问吕贝克,
"No, I don't need it now. You take it," she replied calmly, though the sound of her name being called earlier still echoed in her mind, stirring memories of days spent with Ruth. Looking at Brittany, she couldn't overlook the care and steadfastness this woman had shown her.
"不,我现在不用,你用吧,"虽然平静地回答着,可是她那刚才对自己名字的呼唤却回响在脑海中,勾起了对有露丝陪伴的往日的回忆.看着布列塔尼,这个女人对自己的照料与坚守也是不能忽视的.
She seemed to have a straightforward personality. After finishing her workout, she tossed her sweat-soaked clothes into the washing machine, then gathered Lü Beck's clothes and threw them in too. Turning back, she stood before Lü Beck and said,
"I'm going to take a shower. Want to join me?" " As she spoke, she moved closer, leaning her body against Lübeck's arm, one hand resting on his shoulder while the other took his hand.
她似乎有着爽快的性格,完成了体能锻炼就把汗湿的衣服放进了洗衣机,然后也搜罗了吕贝克的,也一起放了进去,然后又转回来,站在吕贝克面前说,
"我想去洗澡了,你要洗吗?"说完,还又往他靠近了一步,把身体靠在吕贝克的臂膀,一手扶着他的肩,一手拉着他的手,
The scent emanating from her pores after the Breton workout seemed to stir Lübeck's hormones; he rose willingly and accepted her invitation.
布列塔尼运动后毛孔散发的气息,似乎刺激了吕贝克的荷尔蒙,欣然起身,接受了她的邀请.