The Sleeping Army Awakes

Part 34 Robots

Samuel pulled the lever to open yet another pressure door. This time, there was no release of air. Katka looked at Samuel enquiringly, to see if he thought it was safe. Samuel nodded to her, so she went straight in and switched the lights on. Inside there was a long metal counter, behind which there were racks and racks of Navy camouflage uniforms in vacuum sealed transparent bags.

"Bingo!" Samuel cried.

"I'm not sure that I want to wear army uniform!" Katka said with a look of distaste on her face. "It would make me look too much like a guard. I have more unhappy memories of guards."

Samuel got a flash of what some of those memories had been and it didn't make him proud to be a man.

"Well actually they are naval uniforms and if uniforms are what we have, let's wear them with pride!" Samuel said, "And if anyone comes poking around the mine it will add a certain credence to our right to be here and authority if we have to tell them to get out! They'll be expecting military personnel."

She looked down at was she was currently wearing, and she reluctantly agreed that even an army uniform would be better than her tattered dress. At at least if she was in uniform then Samuel wouldn't be able to peer up her dress every time the hem lifted. Not that he had really shown any interest in that direction. "Men are so perplexing!" She thought. There was no fun in telling a man to mind his manners and keep his eyes to himself, if he didn't even want to take a sneaky peek from time to time.

Samuel also thought wryly that anything could be an improvement on the constant distraction of what Katka was presently dressed in but he felt that it might be tactless to voice his opinion. So instead he said,

"Lets get some camouflage. It'll help you to blend in with the forest when we go outside!" Samuel said. "If we can find anything small enough for you to wear that is."

"Oh that's not really a problem if we can find any needles and threads!" Katka replied, "I can make anything you like. I'm trained seamstress."

She had mended enough uniforms in her time, including those of her attackers. It had a been a far cry from the high fashion that she had been trained to create but for a while it had put bread on her table.

"Really." Samuel said. "That's useful! One day I would like you to make some traditional Mík dress. I've quite got out of the habit if you'll pardon the pun."

The humour was incomprehensible to Katka, there was no equivalent in Slavik.

Samuel got up onto the counter and jumped down on the other side. He held his arms out to help Katka up and then down because the counter was rather high. She seemed to weigh virtually nothing when he caught her. He saw her really close up for the first time. Samuel had to admit that she was really rather pretty.

"You can let go of me now !" Katka said after an embarrassed pause, Samuel caught the hint of a thought that she had really rather enjoyed the strength of his mature but manly arms, and that she had fully expected that he would attempt to kiss her into the bargain. In fact to his surprise he caught a whiff of disappointment that he hadn't tried. 

Despite this telepathic powers, Samuel thought that he would never understand women or their motivations, but it was too late to do anything about it in any case. The moment had passed. She was too young for him anyway.

"Sorry!" Samuel apologised letting go of her, "I just noticed how nice looking you are!"

"Now that you've had really good look can we get on and find some clothes?" Katka asked haughtily, not wanting Samuel to catch the interest her thoughts.

"First you don't want to be touched and then you're upset now because I didn't kiss you." Samuel laughed, "Perhaps I'm not the sort of boy you're used to kissing, but I in my book I don't even kiss until the third date."