The priest turned out to be the resident cook and the food was sumptuous compared to what she was accustomed to. Apart from that, there was little of note in the conversation. They were all friendly and had welcomed her to the table, occasionally engaging her in small talk. Fiona was almost oblivious to Amanda’s presence, seeming to hang on the captain’s every word, a doe-eyed look of love on her face the entire time, her hand always touching him in some way, either resting on him, or brushing his cheek. The captain readily returned Fiona’s affections; and though the doctor was a decade older than the dashing captain, Amanda felt they made a nice couple. She was glad she no longer had to capture Fiona.
It was nice to be out of her cabin and socializing, even if she was mainly observing them and making mental notes. In spite of the innocuous nature of the meal, Amanda found it informative, taking note of their social cues, facial expressions, body language and responses to one another. Of all of them, it was, oddly, Heather that set off warning bells. Amanda could not put her finger on it, but there was something about the young engineer that did not match her bubbly personality and she was glad of the opportunity to observe, hoping to gain greater insight as she socialized with the crew regularly. She was also certain that they were quietly observing the Alliance agent, Lena most certainly recording the entire exchange for discussion afterward.
Fiona was the last to the meeting, having had to wrap up a few things in the Med Bay. Dinner was a brief affair, with nothing heavier than small talk, mainly due to the presence of Amanda Keyes. All had agreed that allowing her to join them for meals was an appropriate olive branch; confining the woman to quarters for months just seemed cruel and there was little that she could do to jeopardize them that would not also jeopardize herself. Fiona noted that Keyes was fairly quiet, observing more than participating, which was no surprise; Keyes was an operative and this was the first time she had observed the entire crew, minus Mun, together. Once dinner was done and Amanda back in her cabin, the crew assembled on the bridge to discuss the agent.
“Hey, sorry I’m late,” she apologized as she floated over to Kendrick and stole a kiss before floating to the com officer’s chair. “Last minute stuff.”
Kendrick and Lena were seated at their posts. Ronan took astrogation and Heather, the gunner’s chair. The captain took a swig from his flask, then brought the meeting to order.
“All right, Keyes is in her cabin and Lena’s monitoring her through the ship systems,” Kendrick assured. “I’ll get right down to brass tacks: what do we do with her?”
“Stick her in cryo-stasis and let her rest until we get to Mars?” Heather looked around, shrugging and smiling sheepishly when her idea received looks of disapproval from Kendrick and Ronan. “Hey, just a thought.”
“Have you spoken with her at any length, Captain?” The priest ignored Heather’s suggestion, though Kendrick did not.
“Yeah,” Kendrick replied. “And if I’d gotten any bad vibes from her, we’d be doing exactly what Heather said.”
Heather shot Ronan a triumphant look, even though it was clear that the captain was not putting the agent on ice.
“So you have a good feeling about her?” Fiona asked, a bit of concern in her voice. “Far be it from me to tell you to go against your feelings on this, as I was definitely the beneficiary of your good will, but have you considered how much trouble I’ve caused? What if she causes us an equal amount of trouble?”
“Honestly, I’m more concerned about what happens when we get to Mars than anything she might do while aboard,” the captain confessed. “Keyes already knows what Lena is and made no bones about what the Alliance does with self-aware androids.” He turned to Lena. “Lena’s the one who has the most to lose. So, Lena, how do you feel about her?”
“I agree with you that she poses no threat while aboard,” Lena began. “Once we arrive, however, she will report everything she has observed. While it is unlikely, based on my biometric readings of her at the time, that she means me any harm, the same cannot be said of her superiors. Keyes already knows about me, so keeping her locked up in order to prevent her figuring it out is pointless, though I do recommend restricting her to Pod Alpha.”
“Fi, Heather, Ronan? Where do y’all stand?” Kendrick looked at each one as he said their names.
Fiona reclined, a contemplative look on her face. “What was your conversation with her like?”
“Pleasant enough,” Kendrick began. “She was pleased as punch when I told her she was moving to Pod Alpha. Other than that, she’s grateful for the rescue, enjoys the food and misses her girlfriend. Which brings me to her one request: she wants to send a report to the U.P.A. and get a message of some kind off to the girlfriend. I told her I’d have to think on that.”
Heather furrowed her brow, but did not speak, so Ronan took the opportunity.
“She’s an Alliance agent,” Ronan reminded him. “She’s the beneficiary of a rescue, not our prisoner. By all rights, we should be letting her, not only send a message to a loved one, but also communicate with the U.P.A. As has been pointed out, we really don’t know what the Alliance wants with us and her communicating with them could mean an Alliance welcoming committee when we get to Mars.”
Kendrick nodded. “Heather, how ’bout you?”
“Honestly?” Heather paused before continuing. “Honestly, she scares the daylights outta me. She’s escaped two ships that have been utterly destroyed and is probably as highly trained a fighter as either you or Ronan. No offense, but you ain’t what you were before Venus. Father O’Carmody could probably beat her in a straight up fight, but if she gets herself armed, it could be all over. I’m willing to go along with whatever you decide, but yeah, she scares me.”
Before Kendrick could respond, Fiona interjected. “Ken, did she make any mention of Venus?”
“No, and neither did I. Surprisingly, she didn’t ask me any questions at all, aside from her communications request.” He turned to Lena. “You were privy to my interview of her; what’s your take?”
“Do you want full details or just the pertinent facts?”
“Full details,” Kendrick clarified.
“Very well, Captain,” Lena began. “Agent Keyes has been under my observation since coming aboard. She has spent time in her cabin trying to locate cameras and listening devices. Without more sophisticated equipment, she is unable to locate the ship’s eyes and ears. She has spent the rest of her time eating, watching vids, reading books and exercising. She practices the same fighting style that you do, Captain; American Kenpo, and she is highly proficient.” Lena shifted so as to be able to look at the others before continuing.
“Since coming aboard, biometric scans reveal a ninety percent chance that she was being truthful, though she is undoubtedly trained in regulating her biorhythms so as to fool scans. During your conversation, I noticed low levels of arousal; she finds you attractive. When she discussed Terri, her biometrics showed elevated stress levels, indicating genuine worry and concern. After you discussed allowing her to communicate with Terri, her stress levels decreased significantly; and by the end of your conversation, she was relaxed. It is reasonable to assume that she has a level of trust in you and that you will follow through in the affirmative.”
“All right, so here’s my take,” Kendrick announced. “Keep our mouths shut about Venus. If she asks any of you about it, refer her to me. She probably knows that we’ve been there. Keyes is trained to interrogate people without them realizing they’re being interrogated, so let me take the heat. Other than that, if all of you agree, I’m willing to give her limited access to communications; if we refuse her, then it could be used against us and we could be accused of holding her prisoner or some such nonsense. What say all of you?”
“I endorse this course of action,” Lena declared. “However, Keyes needs to be occupied.”
“Perhaps including her in our socializing?” Ronan asked.
“We’ll make it happen,” Kendrick said. “Fiona’s c
leared me for light training, so we can include her in our workouts. That and maybe we can start having movie nights or something.”
“Keyes hanging out with us and calling the Alliance?” Heather shook her head. “We’ve done crazier things than that, I suppose.”
Amanda Keyes answered her door, only to find Lena waiting for her. It was unusual, but she welcomed the company. With no means of communication, in spite of several attempts to ping com buoys with her datapad, and no interest in sitting around watching movies, Amanda was going stir crazy. Practicing kenpo techniques for a couple of hours a day still left roughly fourteen waking hours to occupy.
“Please tell me you’re not here to escort me to a cryo-tube.”
“Father O’Carmody would be with me in that event,” Lena assured. “The captain and I would like to meet with you. Come with me.”
“Um … okay.”
Lena led Amanda to a conference room in Pod Beta, where Kendrick was waiting. Food had been prepared and the agent suddenly felt hungry. Kendrick stood when she entered and pulled a chair out for her.
“Agent Keyes,” he said politely.
“Captain Royce,” Amanda replied, taking the offered chair. “I must say, Captain, I am unused to such gentlemanly manners.”
He held a chair for Lena, who sat across from Amanda, then took a seat himself, also across from Amanda. “I’m a southern man, Ms. Keyes. My mama didn’t raise no hooligan.”
“Clearly. So what’s on your mind, Captain?” Amanda leaned forward, resting her chin on the back her hands. “Or may I call you Ken?”
“Captain’s fine, Ms. Keyes. Now, as we already discussed, you’re being relocated to Pod Alpha, so you’ll be socializing and interacting with the rest of the crew. Also, I’ve decided to allow you to contact your agency an’ your girl. Please, don’t make me regret this.”
“You won’t,” She exclaimed. “If you weren’t sitting across that table, I’d hug you, Captain. Thanks!”
Chapter 4
Date Night
Fiona wore a dinner dresses inherited from the late Mrs. Royce. The dress’ rich green complemented her coloring, possibly better than it would have Selene Royce’s, who was a brunette. It fit well enough, but was looser in the bust, and tighter in the hips than it probably had been for Selene. Fiona had not dressed up since joining the crew of the Selene and still had no idea why she was doing so; only a cryptic message from Ken, asking her to wear the dress and meet him in the Nexus at six.
The doctor wore makeup for the first time in years, applying a rose lipstick for the occasion. She would have colored her hair if she had any such products. Fiona was satisfied with her reflection in the mirror, hoping that the gray and the wrinkles would not put Kendrick off. Though he was not particularly young, he was a good ten years younger than her fifty-three years and he did not have even a hint of gray or wrinkles. Kendrick also maintained himself, remaining quite athletic, with a toned physique.
Fiona felt the gravity diminish as she rode the lift, her dress billowing as it took her to the Nexus corridor, where she exited, floating weightless. She had gotten used to floating up and down this corridor on her way to the bridge, though this was the first time the Nexus was a destination unto itself. Her data-pad flashed a message to make her way to the aft end of the ship. She did so, wondering what he had in mind; the corridor contained only storage facilities, the aft airlock, stasis tubes and escape pods.
The door at the bow end of the corridor opened and Kendrick came floating back to join her. Punctual, she thought, for he arrived right at six. For a change, he wore a jacket and tie. It was all black, as was his customary color of choice, but it was a nice change from the ordinary. In his arm was a bouquet of flowers, which Fiona knew to be artificial. Having never received flowers from a man, she felt her heart melting at the sight. Kendrick floated up to her, offering the flowers, smiling a bit nervously. Too cute, she thought.
“Hey,” he said. “You look beautiful.”
Fiona searched his eyes for confirmation that he was sincere. She was unused to receiving such compliments from men, even though Kendrick had been forthcoming with praise for her looks, even before they had struck up a romance. She accepted the flowers, holding them gently as though they were real.
“Thank you. I’ve never received flowers, you know? You’re the first. I never expected that I would ever receive them … from anyone.”
“Why not? Seems like a natural thing to do.”
“Apparently,” she explained, “I never rated flowers and I never saw that changing; I’m not young and was never beautiful.”
“Baby, I ain’t no teenager either,” he said with a chuckle. “But you are beautiful.” He gently lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “I know what you look like, Fi, an’ I like it a lot.”
They drifted closer, their faces mere inches apart.
“You really believe it? That I’m beautiful?” She trembled and felt her cheeks reddening.
He placed a soft kiss on her lips, circling his arm around her, pulling her close. “With all my heart. I’ve got what I want right here in my arms.”
Fiona pulled him close, pressing her lips to his in a deep, passionate kiss, to which he responded in kind. They kissed for what seemed like hours, finally parting, both of them blushing as they smiled at each other.
“I … what … what are you going to do with me?”
She thought he might press to make love to her right here. Instead, he smiled his crooked smile, motioning to the door at the bow end of the corridor.
“I’m taking you to dinner. My first date in years.”
“Dinner? Where?”
He took her hand and led her to the lift, taking her to Pod Beta, which contained the passenger accommodations. Fiona realized that in the time she had been aboard, her visit to Keyes was the only time she had ever been to Pod Beta. She never thought of it before, but the ship never carrying passengers meant that Pod Beta sat unused. Keyes had been the only occupant and only briefly.
Gravity increased as they got closer to the spinning pod. His feet touched the floor and she came to rest in his arms, his left arm supporting her torso and his right arm under the crook of her knees. Wrapping her arms around him, she laid her head on his shoulder. Romance, she thought. Honest to goodness romance. She savored each moment.
Finally, the pod came to a stop, letting them off on the upper deck of Pod Beta. Gravity was in full effect, but Kendrick had no trouble holding her. Like a child, she kicked her feet in the air, smiling and giggling.
“You’ve swept me off my feet, Ken.”
“I do have that effect,” he said, kissing her again.
They exited the lift and he gently put Fiona on her feet, and walked her to the end of the corridor. The doors swished open, revealing a lavishly appointed café. The tables still had the chairs up on top of them, as the café had never been used. The forward wall of the café was a window that looked out on the stars, which seemed to gracefully rotate outside, an optical illusion created by the spin of the pod to affect gravity. One lone table sat by the window, chairs down and a candle lit, two wine glasses, a bottle and a plate of food for each of them was already laid out. Classical music played, though she did not recognize the piece.
“You did all this for me?” she asked, overwhelmed by the romantic gesture.
“Guilty as charged,” he replied with a laugh as he held her chair for her, sliding it under her as she sat down. He then sat down across from her. “No wait staff, so I had to get everything ready ahead of time. You can thank Father Ronan for the meal; he was kind enough to do the cooking.”
The meal was eggplant Parmesan, probably the fanciest meal that could be prepared with the provisions on hand, served with a Caesar salad and red wine. The candlelit dinner was a much more intimate experience than the pub where they had first met. Wearing a suit, as he was, he had none of his usual ‘rocker’ air about him. With his improvements in diction, he was almost a different perso
n.
Kendrick then crossed himself and blessed the meal, reverting to his thicker southern accent... “Bless, O Father, Thy gifts to our use and us to Thy service; for Christ’s sake. Amen.”
“Sounds familiar, but different,” Fiona noted.
“Anglican version. Picked it up from Selene.”
She laughed inwardly at his accent’s resurgence when blessing the meal and imagined that he had been saying it that way for so long that it was ingrained in him. It was another quirk that made him cute.
Fiona remembered how she felt when she first met him; she found him attractive, but not marrying material. Now, she wanted nothing more than to settle down with him and grow old together. The time they spent together had slowly, but steadily brought them closer and there were things that he had done for her that had left a lasting impression. His not taking advantage of her when she was drunk had impressed her beyond measure.
“I … I can’t believe it,” she exclaimed. “This is the most romantic date I’ve ever been on. I know I haven’t been on that many, but still!”
“Ah, just trying to do something nice,” he said bashfully, a slight blush coming to his own cheeks.
Fiona realized that in spite of his success as a rock star, status as a bad-boy star ship captain and leading man looks, Ken Royce was still just a small town boy deep down. It explained a lot; like why he married a pretty, but definitely not glamorous computer programmer instead of a super model or a starlet. His ‘aww, shucks’ manner was no put on; it was part of who he was. Perhaps that was what she found the most attractive. Fiona giggled at the thought.
“You really are amazing,” she said.
“Bah,” he protested. “I’m just a regular guy.”
No Safe Harbor: The Silver Liner Page 4