After having dinner with Brittany, Lübeck ordered two bottles of beer,
和布列塔尼吃过晚餐,吕贝克要了两瓶啤酒,
"Come, let's go stargaze and drink,"
"走,我们去观星对饮,"
"Okay,"
"好啊,"
"Pity there's no moon here," Lübeck said, tucking the beer into his pocket and pulling Brittany down to the lower deck. Apart from the bridge and manned lookout posts, the only observation windows were above the hangar bay where aircraft were dispatched and received — those were just auxiliary observation positions for personnel, with no operational equipment, accessible to anyone.
"可惜这里没有月亮了,"说着,吕贝克把啤酒往兜里一揣,拉着布列塔尼来到下层甲板,除了舰桥和有岗位的瞭望点,只有机库收发飞机的位置上方有观察窗,那只是用于人员辅助观察的位置,没有什么操作设备,谁都可以接近.
This observation corridor also had sealed doors at intervals, but they were usually left open. The observation windows were small, multi-layered portholes — structurally strong but offering poor visibility.
这个观察用人员通道也是每隔一段就有密封门,但是平时都是敞开的,观察窗也是多层的小圆窗,结构强但是视野不怎么好,
Lübeck and Brittany stood at one of the windows, leaning against the sealed door partition. It was a quiet spot, undisturbed by anyone.
吕贝克和布列塔尼站在一个窗前,身靠密封门隔断,这里倒是个没有人打扰的安静所在,
"One bottle each, enjoy it slowly. Once it's gone, it's gone," Lübeck said, opening a beer and handing it to Brittany.
"只有一人一瓶,慢慢享用,喝完就没了,"说着,吕贝克开了啤酒递给布列塔尼,
"Hmm, is this all I get in this lifetime?" Brittany asked playfully, looking at the beer in her hand.
"嗯,这辈子就只有这些了么?"布列塔尼看着手里的啤酒,调皮地问,
"Hahaha, tonight this is all we have," Lübeck said, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close.
"哈哈哈,今晚只有这些了,"说着,吕贝克揽着她的腰,一把把她搂了过来,
Brittany's eyes curved into crescents as she looked at Lübeck, raising the bottle to her lips and taking a delicate sip, looking quite pleased with herself — because now only she had the right to talk about the length of a lifetime with the man before her.
布列塔尼双眼弯弯,看着吕贝克,把酒瓶送到嘴边,轻轻抿了一口,很得意的样子,因为现在只有她有资格和眼前的吕贝克谈论一生这样的长度.
The fragrance of aged wheat fermentation lingered between them, as though whether that little porthole could see the stars no longer mattered.
那岁月沉淀的小麦发酵的芬芳,洋溢在两人之间,似乎那个小圆窗能不能看到星辰已经不重要了,
"Tell me, were you enchanted by that woman?" Brittany asked, placing her hand on Lübeck's chest, as if she could feel with her hand whether his heart was lying to her.
"告诉我,你有没有被那个女人迷住?"布列塔尼把手按在吕贝克的胸前问,似乎她可以用她的手感知他的心有没有对自己撒谎,
Lübeck smiled, looking at the face before him, recalling the conversation he'd had with Shizuka at noon.
吕贝克一笑,看着眼前的面容,想起了中午和静香交谈的情景,
"Bri, if you hadn't brought it up, I would've forgotten,"
"布瑞,你要不提这事我就忘了,"
"You're bullying me," Brittany said angrily, balling her fists and punching Lübeck's shoulder twice, then leaning into his embrace.
"你欺负我,"布列塔尼生气地攥着拳头捶了两下吕贝克的肩头,然后靠在了他的怀里,
Lübeck leaned against the bulkhead, stroking her back with one hand, glancing out the window to the side. He could see nothing — the corridor lights were on. Lübeck mocked himself silently: what was his gaze avoiding? What was his mind evading?
吕贝克靠在舱壁上,单手抚摸着她的背,向一旁的窗外望去,什么也看不见,因为通道照明灯开着呢.吕贝克心中暗暗嘲笑自己,自己的视线在躲避什么,自己的思绪又是在回避什么.
Brittany was right. He was bullying her — bullying her for having no one to rely on, bullying her for her modest background, so that she'd have to give herself to him here, and still have to worry at every moment whether some other woman would steal her man. But… that equally slender figure… she came from the depths of the universe…
布列塔尼说的没错,自己是在欺负她,欺负她无依无靠,欺负她家境一般,才会在这里委身于自己,还得时刻担心会不会有别的女人抢了他的男人.可是?那个同样单薄的身影...,她来自宇宙深处...
Lübeck was also assessing his own emotional stability. Was it the dual impact of Ruth's passing and the memories carried by his age reversal that had compromised his emotional equilibrium? So much so that whenever he saw a woman from space, he would subconsciously project her as Ruth, and thus feel inexplicably drawn to her. Perhaps he truly needed to distract himself, or this would eventually affect his duties as ship captain.
吕贝克也在评估自己的情绪稳定情况,是不是露丝的离世和自己年龄逆转所携带的记忆,双重因素影响了自己的情绪稳定性.以至于看到太空中来的女人,就会潜意识影射她是不是露丝,所以才无缘无故地心生牵挂.或许真的需要分散一下注意力,不然这样下去可能会影响自己行驶舰长的职责.
"Bri, shall we look at the stars together?"
"布瑞,我们一起看星星好吗?"
"Mm,"
"嗯,"
Looking at her face, Lübeck felt a pang of guilt again. How had she become a tool for him to distract himself?
看着她的脸庞,吕贝克又心生愧疚,怎么好像她成了自己分散注意力的工具?
He turned off the corridor lights for that section, and the view outside the window became clear. Lübeck wrapped his arm around Brittany's waist, and the two stood side by side at the window. That tiny porthole seemed to draw them even closer, because they needed to press their faces together to share the view.
关掉这一段通道的照明灯,窗外的景物果然清晰了,吕贝克搂着布列塔尼的腰,两人并列窗前,那小小的圆窗似乎还更好地拉近了他们之间的距离,因为需要两张脸靠在一起,才能共享视野,
"See those three stars in a row? Easy to spot. That's Orion's Belt."
"你看那接连的三颗星,很好辨认,那就是猎户座腰带,"
"Oh, how far away are they?"
"哦,它们有多远啊?"
"Hundreds of light-years."
"几百光年,"
"Heh, we'll never get there in this lifetime."
"呵呵,我们这辈子也到不了那里,"
"Mm, this ship can't. But the fighters we carry probably can. They're alien black tech — that's already an open secret around here."
"嗯,这艘船不行,但是我们搭载的战机应该可以,它们是外星黑科技,这已经是这里公开的秘密了,"
"Oh, then I'm not going either. Will the men there be ugly?"
"哦,那我也不去,那的男人会不会长得好丑,"
"Hahaha," Lübeck hugged her waist and swayed her gently.
"哈哈哈,"吕贝克搂着她的腰晃了晃,
"Very likely."
"很可能是的,"
"Sigh, Lübeck, where did that woman come from today at noon?"
"唉,吕贝克,今天中午那个女人是从哪里来的?"
"The Pleiades, just to the left of Orion's direction. See, the brightest star over there is Sirius — that's to the right. The opposite direction is left. But the Pleiades aren't very bright, hard to pick out."
"昴星团,就在猎户座方向往左,你看那边最亮的是天狼星,是右边,反方向是左边,但是昴星团亮度不高,不太好辨认,"
"Ugh, so complicated. I don't want to find it anymore. As long as the women on it don't come steal my man, that's all I care about," Brittany said, then looked at Lübeck and rested her head on his shoulder.
"哎呀,这么麻烦,我不要找它在哪里了,只要它上面的女人不来抢我的男人就好了,"说完,布列塔尼看了看吕贝克,把头靠在了他的肩头,
"So boring. Any shooting stars? I want to make a wish."
"好无聊,有没有流星出现啊?我想许个愿望,"
"No, there's no atmosphere. Meteors don't burn up."
"没有啊,没有大气层,流星不会燃烧的,"
"Ugh, can't you just lie to me for once?"
"哎呀,你就骗我一下不行啊,"
"Oh, then you tell me."
"哦,那你就告诉我吧,"
"No."
"我不,"
Lübeck knew she was acting coquettishly, but the monotonous starry sky in the universe truly couldn't satisfy a girl's romance. He pulled her waist tighter and said,
吕贝克知道她是在撒娇,但是宇宙里单调的星空真的满足不了女生的浪漫,便搂了一把她的腰,说,
"Shall we keep walking?"
"我们接着散步好吗?"
"Okay."
"好,"
The scent of beer, the empty corridor — it was perfect for a couple to stroll. That one passage they could walk down seemed like the one road in life on which the two of them would never part.
啤酒的清香,无人的走廊,倒是适合情侣一同散步,那唯一的可以走下去的通道,仿佛是人生中两人永远也不会走散的那一条路.
Over drinks and idle chat, they had nearly reached the end of the path. Lübeck was about to lead Brittany back to rest when he faintly heard sounds coming from the hangar below, as if someone was doing something.
饮酒闲聊间,这条路已经快要走到了尽头,吕贝克刚想领着布列塔尼折返回去休息,却隐约听到下面机库里传出响动,似乎有人在做什么.
Naturally alert by nature, he couldn't ignore it. He pulled Brittany down from the observation corridor and into the hangar passage.
天生警觉的他自然不会置之不理,便拉着布列塔尼从观察通道下来,来到了机库通道.
Following the sound, they walked to a hangar bay and looked inside. It was that Super Sabre fighter — the skin panels removed. Shizuka was servicing her aircraft. The sounds of tools or parts clinking, and the use of lifting slings. But she working alone didn't comply with hazard control regulations, because if she were accidentally injured, there would be no one to call for help for her.
循着声音,走到一个机库旁,向里面望去,是那架超佩刀战机,蒙皮拆开,是静香正在检修她的飞机,是工具或者零件磕碰的声音,还有使用吊索的声音,但是她一个人做这项工作并不符合危害控制条例,因为如果她意外受伤,没有人会替她呼救.
But how to tell her? She didn't like to socialize. Lübeck was thinking about how to bring it up.
可是怎么跟她说呢?她不爱交流,吕贝克在思索如何开口,
But Shizuka seemed to notice someone had arrived. She turned her head and glanced at Lübeck.
但是静香似乎注意到了有人到来,她转回头,看了一眼吕贝克,
"Hello, need any help?" Lübeck asked quickly.
"你好,需要帮忙吗?"吕贝克急忙问,
"No need, thank you," Shizuka said, turning and standing up.
"不用,谢谢,"静香转身,起立说,
"Uh, if you're worried about convenience, I can find two female mechanics to give you a hand," Lübeck thought a lot. Shizuka was so petite, and he was also worried about what might happen if male crew were here. Seeing she didn't respond, Lübeck quickly added,
"呃,如果你怕不方便,我可以找两名女性机械师来给你帮把手,"吕贝克想得很多,静香那么娇小,他也怕男兵在这里万一发生什么意外.见她没有回答,吕贝克又急忙补充说,
"If there are confidentiality requirements, you can keep them from touching anything — just as safety supervisors."
"如果有保密要求,你也可以不让她们插手,主要作为安全看护人员也行,"
"Alright, thank you then."
"好,那么谢谢了,"
"Good, they'll be here soon," Lübeck said, then pulled Brittany away.
"好,她们一会儿就到,"说完,吕贝克就拉着布列塔尼离开了,
Lübeck ended the conversation quickly and left, uncertain whether it was because he feared Shizuka's big eyes seemed to read something from his gaze, or because Brittany's arms, wrapped around his left arm, were squeezing tighter and tighter.
吕贝克快速结束了对话离开,不知道是害怕静香那双大眼睛似乎能从自己的眼神中读出些什么,还是因为布列塔尼在一旁搂着自己左侧胳膊的双臂越搂越紧了.
On the way back, Lübeck ordered them night-shift meals, notified duty personnel to monitor the relevant areas, then returned to his quarters with peace of mind.
返回途中,吕贝克给她们订了夜班工作餐,通知值班人员监控相关区域,然后放心地回了住处.
He'd just closed the door and turned around when he saw Brittany had already tossed off her outer clothes and slipped into the bathroom.
关好门刚转回身,只见布列塔尼已经扔了外衣,钻进了浴室,
Lübeck followed and picked up her uniform, hanging it on the rack.
吕贝克跟过去把她的制服捡起来,挂在了衣架,
"Erich, don't worry about my clothes, I'll wash them later," Brittany said from inside the bathroom, cracking the door open a sliver to speak to Lübeck.
"埃里希,不用管我的衣服,一会儿我会清洗它们的,"布列塔尼在浴室里,拉开一个门缝对吕贝克说,
"Sure," Lübeck said, walking over.
"好啊,"说着吕贝克走了过来,
"Hair fragments are pricking me," Brittany explained while washing her hair and body.
"头发碎屑扎我,"布列塔尼一边解释一边清洗自己的头发和身体,
"Then why didn't you say so earlier? Come back sooner and get clean."
"那你为什么不早说,早点回来洗干净,"
"Ah, it only started pricking badly now. I sweated, so now it's pricking badly," Brittany explained, twisting her body to rinse the foam off. Some of the water splashing off her flew through the door crack and landed on Lübeck.
"啊,现在才扎得厉害,我出汗了,所以现在才扎得厉害,"一边解释着,布列塔尼一边旋转着身体冲洗身上的泡沫,打在她身上飞溅的水珠有的飞出门缝,落在吕贝克身上,
"Erich, I don't know if I've washed clean. Can you check my back for me?"
"埃里希,我不知道洗干净了没有,帮我看看后背好吗?"
Lübeck smiled, though she couldn't see it.
吕贝克一笑,虽然她看不见,
"Sure."
"好的,"
(Translated by Claude)