Lübeck pressed his face against Ruth's chest, breathing in her familiar scent as a breeze stirred her skirt, gently brushing his cheek. He held her waist and hips, kneeling on one knee before her, lost in the evening breeze. She was so gentle—her slender body, her soft arms—gently cradling Lübeck's head, settling it into her embrace. The evening breeze caressed the branches of purple coneflowers, their leaves brushing against each other, rustling in rhythm with the wind. Amidst the chirping of crickets, the cool evening breeze stirred, occasionally ruffling Ruth's clothes...
吕贝克把脸贴在露丝的胸前,呼吸着她那熟悉的气息,微风吹动她的衣襟,轻轻拍打在自己的脸颊.吕贝克搂着她的腰臀,单膝跪在她的面前,沉醉在傍晚的清风里.她是那样的轻柔,她纤细的身体,轻柔的手臂,轻挽着吕贝克的头,安顿在自己的怀中.晚风轻拂着紫锥菊的枝叶,相互刮擦,和着风的韵律沙沙作响.唧唧唧的蟋蟀声里,不时送来晚风的清凉,搅动露丝的衣裳...
Creak, creak—the sound of footsteps crunching through the snow. Ruth's frail frame pulled the sled, carrying Lübeck homeward. The north wind howled across the vast expanse, whipping up snowdrifts and dead leaves that stung Lübeck's face. The sun in the west was about to dip below the horizon, casting a faint crimson glow across the dark purple sky. Its last warmth seemed to melt the snow-covered plains stretching into the distance...
咯吱咯吱的,脚步踩在雪地里的声音,露丝那瘦弱的身躯,拉着爬犁,载着吕贝克,走在回家的路上.北风咆哮着刮过广袤的土地,卷起地上的积雪,枯叶,打在吕贝克的脸上,有些刺痛,西边的太阳就快要落到地平线以下,在暗紫色的天际里,用一丝残红仅有的温度,溶解天际那点雪原大地...
At the window in the afternoon, sunlight streamed through the only small pane, illuminating the outline of her silhouette. Her hair, slightly tousled and untidy, seemed as though she never bothered with her appearance. Her back was bent, head bowed. Light fell on her shoulders and the edge of her back, always covered by that same old blue sweater—the pile worn away, the fabric stiff. She was sewing. Lübeck knew she often mended the frayed hems and torn seams of his clothes.
午后的窗前,透过仅有的那扇小窗,阳光照亮她身影的轮廓,她的发丝,有些蓬松,没怎么梳理,似乎她从不在意自己.她的背影,低着头,背有些曲,光亮照在她的肩头,后背边缘,总是那件青色的旧毛衣,已经磨去了绒毛,有些僵硬.她在做针线活,吕贝克知道,她经常为自己磨破的衣角,裤腿缝缝补补.
Lübeck wanted to call her name, to tell her he was back, that he had returned home, standing right behind her. If she turned around, she could see him again. Lübeck wanted to call her name, but the word "Ruth" simply wouldn't come out, as if stuck in his throat. Her silhouette stood before him, yet he could not call her to turn and meet his gaze. In the afternoon sunlight, Ruth's figure seemed to fade like a phantom seen through water—as if Lübeck himself had sunk beneath the surface...
吕贝克想要呼唤她的名字,告诉她自己回来了,自己回家了,就站在她的身后,她转过头就能够再见到自己,吕贝克想要呼唤她的名字,可是"露丝"那两个字却怎么也无法喊出口,仿佛被卡在了喉咙里.望着她的背影就在眼前,却无法喊叫她回头相见,午后的阳光里露丝的身影,吕贝克仿佛是沉在了水底,透过水面看到的幻影...
Beep beep beep beep, beep beep beep beep, beep beep beep beep, the urgent beeping sound, beep beep beep beep, beep beep beep beep, The urgent beeping jolted Lübeck back to reality. He opened his eyes to realize he'd been dreaming—no, wait, he hadn't been sleeping. A man was leaning over him, checking his condition. Lübeck recognized him: Dr. Lucas Weber. He was using his old-fashioned stethoscope to examine Lübeck's heart and lungs, flanked by two others who appeared to be his assistants.
嘀嘀嘀嘀,嘀嘀嘀嘀,嘀嘀嘀嘀,急促的提示音,嘀嘀嘀嘀,嘀嘀嘀嘀,吕贝克被耳边急促的提示音再次拉回到了现实,他睁开眼睛,发现自己做了一个梦,不,不对,自己刚才不是在睡觉,面前有个男人正在俯身查看自己的情况,吕贝克认出了他,是卢卡斯·韦伯医生,他正在用自己那原始的听诊器查看吕贝克心肺情况,旁边还有两个人似乎是他的助理.
Lübeck glanced around the medical pod he lay in, recalling the last moments before being brought here. Oh, he'd passed through an underground time portal and arrived via the subterranean rail system. But what came before that? Before that, he'd still been above ground—oh, at Ruth's grave, laying a bouquet of white lilies. They seemed to mirror her pure, delicate form, forever parted from him as the years slipped away.
吕贝克扭头看了看两边,自己躺在医疗舱里,他回想着躺在这里之前最后的情景.哦,自己是通过了一个地下的时空门,然后乘坐地下轨道交通到达这里,在那之前呢?在那之前自己还在地面上,哦,是露丝的墓前,为她献上一束白色百合花,仿佛是她纯洁纤细的身影,随着逝去的岁月永别.
Lübeck had always refused to undergo age reversal, fearing he would lose his memories of Ruth. After she left, he had nothing left to hold him back. He finally accepted the new mission: first reverse his age, then continue serving as captain—captain of the U.S. secret space program project.
之前吕贝克一直拒绝做年龄逆转,他怕失去对露丝的记忆,当她离开以后,吕贝克再也没有了任何牵挂,终于接受了新的任务,首先逆转年龄,然后继续做舰长,美国秘密太空计划项目的舰长.
After Dr. Weber's examination, Captain Lübeck left the medical bay, examining his hands and body. Weber's assistant had already brought him the base standard uniform.
"Captain Lübeck, your biological age has been successfully reversed to 25 years old."
经过韦伯医生检查之后,吕贝克离开了医疗舱,正看着自己的双手,身体,韦伯的助手已经给他拿来了基地标准制服,
"吕贝克舰长,你的生物年龄成功逆转到了25岁,"
"Can't we just go back to when I was 20? Why not skip straight to that age?" Lübeck asked, sounding a bit surprised.
"不是能逆转到20岁吗?为什么不直接到20岁?"吕贝克有些诧异地问,
Mr. Lübeck, as captain, you need some age to maintain your authority. At twenty, you'd be the same age as those pilots.
"吕贝克先生,您是舰长,需要一些年纪保持您的威严,20岁就和那些飞行员一样年龄了."
Oh, thank you for thinking so thoroughly, but it's just a bit inefficient.
"哦,谢谢你想得这么周到,只是效率有些低,"
After saying that, the two of them burst out laughing.
说完,两个人哈哈笑了.
Returning to her quarters, she passed through the airlock door to find a female soldier cleaning the room. Hearing someone enter, the soldier turned to see Lübeck and immediately snapped to attention, saluting and reporting,
"Second Lieutenant Brittany McGowan reporting for duty."
回到自己的房间,穿过气密门,见到有一个女兵正在清理房间卫生,听到有人进来,回头一看,是吕贝克,马上立正行军礼报告,
"少尉布列塔尼·麦高恩报道,"
Lübeck returned the greeting and asked,
"How do you know me?"
吕贝克回礼,问,
"你怎么认识我?"
"I was assigned here to take care of your daily needs."
"我是被分配到这里的,照顾你的生活起居,"
"What branch of the military are you in?"
"你是什么兵种?"
"What branch of the military are you in?"
"医务兵,"
Why did you choose me?
"你为什么选择我?"
Captain, I really didn't have much choice—either stick with those soldiers or stick with you.
"舰长,其实我没有太多选择,要么和那些士兵在一起,要么和你,"
"Oh, you can choose, then you must be quite exceptional. Please have a seat," Lü Beck said, settling into the chair at the workbench. He studied Brittany's features: short golden hair, a pointed chin, fair skin, and eyes that were a deep brown-green.
"哦,你可以选择,那么你一定很优秀,请坐吧,"说着,吕贝克也坐在了工作台前的椅子上,端详着布列塔尼的相貌,金色短发,尖下颌,皮肤白皙,她有一双棕绿色的眼睛.
"Where are you from?" Lübeck asked.
"你来自哪里?"吕贝克问,
West Virginia,
"西弗吉尼亚,"
Oh, what a beautiful place. What year were you born?
"哦,一个美丽的地方,哪年出生的?"
"Thanks, 1986,"
"谢谢,1986,"
My mission is to orbit Saturn, which means spending two or three decades in the depths of space aboard a cramped warship. Are you mentally prepared for that?
"跟随我的任务是土星轨道,这意味着要二三十年在宇宙深空,空间狭窄的战舰里.你有这样的心理准备吗?"
"Yes, I have undergone the assessment."
"是的我经过了评估,"
"You're still young—don't you ever miss home?"
"你还年轻,不会想家吗?"
Brittany gave a helpless smile.
"An alcoholic father, a mother who argues every day, a rebellious younger brother—I truly have nothing to hold me back there. Though the scenery is beautiful, there's no livelihood to be found."
布列塔尼无奈一笑,
"酗酒的父亲,每天争吵的母亲,叛逆的弟弟,我真的没有什么可以留恋的,那个地方虽然有风景,却没有生计."
"Sorry for bringing up these old memories again." After saying this, Lübeck asked no more questions. He simply sat there quietly, watching Brittany continue tidying their room. Though her gray-blue uniform was a bit loose, it still hinted at her feminine figure. Lübeck tried to find traces of Ruth in her, but found none. The promise they'd made before parting—he didn't know how it could ever be fulfilled now.
"抱歉,又让你提起这些往事."说完吕贝克不再询问什么了,只是静静地坐在那里,看着布列塔尼继续收拾他们的房间,虽然灰蓝色连体制服有些宽松,但还是显出她女性身材的特质,吕贝克试图在她身上找到露丝的影子,但是没有.曾经离别前的约定,现在不知道要怎样才能实现.
After spending over half a year lying in the medical pod, combined with Mars' low-gravity environment, Lübeck felt his muscles had practically atrophied. Sitting in a chair for even a short while left him exhausted. Seeing that Brittany had made up the bed, he went over and lay down on it.
在医疗舱里躺了大半年,加上火星的低重力环境,吕贝克觉得自己的肌肉似乎都萎缩了,椅子上坐一会就觉得累了,见布列塔尼收拾好了床,就过去躺在了上面.
"What's it like to reverse your age in the medical pod?" Brittany leaned in, her curiosity evident.
"在医疗仓里面逆转年龄是什么样的感觉?"布列塔尼凑过来好奇地问,
Induced coma, just like surgical anesthesia—you won't remember anything. Oh, I gradually regained my memories as I was waking up. You haven't had any missions before, and your age hasn't been reversed, right?
"诱导昏迷,和手术麻醉一样,什么都不记得,哦,我快醒来的时候逐步有了自己的记忆.你之前没有过任务,没有被逆转过年龄是吗?"
Yes, this is my first time.
"是的,这是我第一次,"
"Oh, being selected directly for the Space Force is no small feat."
"哦,你能直接被选到太空部队,很不容易啊,"
Yeah, during my physical exam, my fitness and vestibular balance scores were excellent. Later, I heard that after completing a mission here, you could reverse back to your original age—plus the generous pay—so I chose to come here, haha.
"是啊,体检的时候我的体能和前庭感官平衡能力成绩很好,后来听说来这里执行完任务还能逆转回原来的年龄,又有丰厚的报酬,我就选择来这里了,哈哈." As she spoke, Brittany sat down on the edge of the bed, propping her arms at her sides. She turned to ask Lübeck,
"What about you?"
说着,布列塔尼坐在了床边,手臂支撑在体侧,扭过身问吕贝克,
"你呢?"
Her hips, pressed against the bedside, strained the fabric of her pants under her weight, accentuating her feminine curves. The gentle curve of her arm as she leaned forward added a touch of softness, truly capturing Lübeck's attention. He couldn't help but wonder: Was it the hormones surging after his age reversal, or the heightened physical desire from over half a year of recuperation? Or was it simply her irresistible allure?
她坐在床边的臀部在体重压力下撑紧了裤子的外形,尽显女性的性感,支撑手臂的臂弯前倾,又增添几分女性的柔美,着实吸引了吕贝克的注意力,他的心里也在怀疑,到底是年龄逆转后的荷尔蒙,还是这半年多的修养,使得自己的生理欲望变强,还是她对我的吸引力呢?
After a moment's hesitation, Lübeck replied,
"During the Cold War, I was a captain of a US Navy aircraft carrier. Later, I participated in a secret American space program."
迟疑片刻,吕贝克回答,
"冷战期间我是美国海军航母舰长,后来参加了美国的秘密太空计划项目."