“You really like it down here?”
“You really like Frost waking you in the middle of the night?”
“Sometimes. When he doesn't have bar breath.”
“Well, until I have someone to remind me that I'm not alone in the middle of the night I'll like it down here. Besides, I get to know the new pilots, they're nice too.”
“Of course they're nice, you're the Master of the Helm. Your walks to the shower in shorts and a strategically placed towel must be a real hit too.”
“I don't think anyone really notices since most are from the military or big industrial frigates. There's no privacy there. Besides, after growing up with even less privacy I don't even notice. Hi Jordan,” Ashley waved as she passed a pair of young officers. The one who had two wings stretched across his cuffs smiled at her as she went by.
Stephanie couldn't help but play mother hen to her best friend occasionally. Ashley still assumed most people were good at heart. In the case of the pilot who she'd acknowledged on her way through the crowded berthing it seemed she was right, he didn't so much as break eye contact as Ashley passed by.
“How was patrol?” Ashley asked over her shoulder.
“Didn't happen. We came out of the wormhole late.”
“Don't worry, you'll be out there soon.” They passed into the group lavatory. There were two dozen unisex toilet stalls to one side, sinks and hygiene product dispensers on the left and a honeycomb of shower stalls at the end. In the centre were several pillars where the less modest crew members could shower without privacy. She flipped her light blue towel to Stephanie, who was already dressed in her black vacsuit uniform and armed for duty as Security Chief.
Stephanie cleared her throat. “Really? You're not even going to use a stall?”
“What? You were in the military, from what everyone says this is par for the course.”
“You're the Master of the Helm, an officer.” Stephanie shook her head. “What's the point of all the extra hours unless you at least get a divider while you're in the sonic.”
Ashley shrugged and stepped into a stall, snapping off her shorts. “As you wish miss manners. Incoming!” She flicked the undergarment over the semitransparent divider at Stephanie, catching her in the side of the face.
“Nice. When I was in the military they gave us three minutes to shit, shower and get in gear on a good day. You should feel lucky Captain didn't just file us in with the rest of the crew when his old chums came aboard.”
“Listen to you, all cynical and 'back in my day' like. I bet people here feel better seeing that I expect no better than they're getting. They see I sleep in the same bunks, take extra time to practice flying in the sims and keep walking the learning curve.”
“But they're supposed to take orders from you. That's why Officers get their own quarters, so they know you're in a higher position.”
“Where'd you hear that? I can give them advice, sure, and I'm their superior but the fighter wing isn't even in my chain of command. I'm really just another pilot.”
“Who flies the carrier for eight or so hours a day.”
“Yesterday was eleven. Get me a denta tab, 'kay?” Ashley directed as the water came on and sprayed her from all sides in hot jets. She pumped the shampoo dispenser and lathered.
Stephanie walked over to a dispenser and pressed the button that initiated a materialization sequence that produced a small, minty green chewing tablet. On her way back she had to dodge a pair who were headed to shower stalls in a state of undress similar to Ashley. They apologized through grins.
“Does this berth have to be unisex though? I mean, this isn't really a military ship,” Stephanie stuck the denta tab in Ashley's mouth over the divider, which was just low enough so she could see the top half of her face.
“Uh-huh, not military,” Ashley replied sarcastically as she chomped the oral cleaning tablet. “Have you met our new First Officer?” Ashley rinsed her hair. Some of the spray caught Stephanie, who stepped to the side and leaned against the next stall.
The sound of the floor sucking the water into the recycling system was almost so loud she had to yell. “I guess you're right. He has brought in a lot of good changes though. It's easy to know your place on the ship now. You should have seen the report I had to make the day after Jake was back. It took me three hours to narrate and he only checked the fifteen minute summary. I nearly strangled him. He's not as stiff as you'd expect most military officers though, he seems to have a swagger too, like he's stepped out of some swashbuckler or cowboy movie. The more I see him and Captain together the more I get the feeling we're turning pirate, not looking for alliances anywhere. Doesn't take long to figure out why they're old chums.”
“I know, I like him. We call him Oz on the bridge, reminds me of that old kids movie, only he's not some creepy guy behind a curtain and there's no yellow brick road.”
“Sometimes I have no idea what you're talking about,” Stephanie shook her head.
Ashley sputtered and leaned out of the stall, on tip toes, her hair gooped up with conditioner. “What? You never saw the Wizard of Oz?”
“That's what it's called? Now that I think of it,” Stephanie feigned pondering for a moment. “Nope, never saw it.”
“God, what did you guys do when you were kids?” Ashley asked as she went back to her morning shower.
“We played outside if we weren't in school.”
“Ah well. I didn't get away often. Used to spend a lot of time at the lake when I did though. I know it was slavery and being a kid in the household sucked but it was a beautiful place. I can't wait to call Fred, if it weren't for him I'd be a real mess.”
“You're not getting your hopes up too high I hope. Jason Everin and the rest of the analysts are saying the death toll is over fifty percent for worlds hit with the Holocaust Virus, there's no telling-”
“I'm not too worried. They had slaves on Gamrie's estate because they didn't like bots much, so there really aren't many around. It's a little off the beaten track anyway.”
“I just want you to be ready for anything,” Stephanie reinforced gently.
“I know. Think you'll get a hold of your folks?”
“Pretty sure. I mean, it's not like they could afford anything you'd load an AI into. I'm just worried about my cousins in the refinery.”
“If they're as quick and clever as you they'll be fine.”
“Here's hoping.”
Ashley cut the water and turned on the sonic emitters. Most of the excess water was shaken off her skin under the vibrating pressure of the invisible waves. “I love this ship, if for no other reason 'cause everyone can use actual water for their showers and vibe most of the way dry,” Ashley sighed, her voice affected by the vibrating air in the shower.
“Wing Commander on deck!” Bellowed someone just outside the lavatory.
“It's Minh-Chu,” Stephanie whispered as she stepped away from the cubicle and looked down the main passage between bunks. Ever since Captain Valance's return the mid to low ranking crew members were being pressed into a more military order of conduct and she was glad to see it had carried down into the pilot's berth. All the pilots stopped what they were doing and stood at attention.
“Oh crap!” Ashley whispered, crouched below the edge of the privacy barrier. “Towel!”
“I thought you didn't care if anyone saw you in the buff.”
“Now I care, kay? Towel!” Ashley shot back in a whisper.
Stephanie tossed the towel into the stall. “You fancy him.”
“And?”
“Should I tell him?” Stephanie teased in a whisper.
“Only if you want me to start using all your secrets in conversations anecdotally,” Ashley threatened.
“I need two pilots to join my patrol. I'd prefer volunteers who've had a rest period sometime in the last sixteen hours,” Minh-Chu announced.
Ashley hurriedly wrapped the towel around herself and checked her comm unit. “Crap, I've got duty in two hou
rs otherwise I'd sign up.”
“Captain probably wouldn't like that. You're over extended as is,” Stephanie whispered back.
“I know, but, um. Do you think Panloo would be willing to do a double shift?”
“I think she just did. Ah, too late, he's leaving. He got two pilots.”
Ashley poked her head over the privacy barrier. “Jaime and Mia, they're good too.”
“Good thing. They're investigating the asteroid field.”
“God, sometimes I wish I were just another member of the squadron.”
“No you don't, a quarter of pilots don't come back from active engagements. Well, that's on most ships anyway, Triton’s crew is too new to have stats.”
“I have the math, three dimensional thinking and reflexes for it though, that's half the battle. I've also flown everything we have in sims and qualified.”
“All the more reason why I'd rather have you right where you are, safely guiding Triton around.”
Ashley made her way back to her bunk with Stephanie close behind. “Yeah, most of the time I feel like a glorified bus driver and the rest I'm responsible for trying to dodge torpedoes and God only knows what else with one of the biggest ships I've ever seen. It's like threading a needle with a chisel and a sledgehammer.”
“You know you enjoy it.”
Ashley smiled and sighed, pulling a black vacsuit with her rank insignia, seven silver wings on each cuff out of the storage compartment under her bunk mattress. “You know I do. How's security?”
“Better. Jake, I mean Captain Valance has had more time to help out and Jason's been able to make sense of our surveillance systems without using an AI. He's even getting a grip on the Triton’s operating system. The ship's starting to come to life again.”
“I hear he's pretty amazing.”
“Kind of scary actually,” Stephanie agreed quietly. “He used to be intelligence, like the top secret, dangerous mission kind of intelligence. I wouldn't have believed it but what he can do with encryption and what he's been able to figure out from the little we know about the killer aboard is amazing.”
“Oh? Do you know who it is yet?”
“No, only that he's not doing it randomly, he's only after Order of Eden freaks and he's really, really experienced.”
“All the more reason to stay here, surrounded by witnesses,” Ashley said as she pulled her vacsuit up under her towel.
“So you're actually going to stay in the bunks.”
“Well, yeah. Besides, maybe I can clear some time and set up to fly with Ronin.” She sealed the vacsuit up most of the way and put on some lipstick and eye liner.
“You mean Minh, everyone on the bridge calls him Minh.”
“I like Ronin. Find anything else out about him?”
“I'm Chief of security.”
“Yeah, so?”
“I can't use that information for personal reasons.”
“Oh come on! If you can't get the goods on your crew mates what good is being Chief? Besides, I have to know who I'm flying with.”
“Good point. You have the access, why don't you look him up?”
“He might check his Crewcast logs and see that I've been looking at him.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes. “You know you're not in high school anymore, right?”
“I never went. Is this what it's like?”
“Rampant insecurity and raging hormones? Yup.”
“I thought that was pregnancy.”
“Nope that's morning sickness, swollen feet, constant trips to the bathroom and raging hormones.”
“Right, gotcha,” Ashley followed Stephanie to the lift, waving at a group of pilots just coming in from being on standby for the last shift. “So, you and Frost?”
“He was over last night. Bugger refuses to take the foot medical grew for him. He won't take anything our new Chief of Medical made for him because she's nafalli. I told him she just started the whole process, that humans took care of the rest because she can only put in half shifts but he won't listen.”
“Oh, so you two are back together.”
Stephanie gave Ashley a wilting look as the lift doors closed. “He was over last night.”
“Oh, all night? Okay, I guess that's back together. He doesn't know about you and Captain?”
“No, and he won't. It's just not worth the grief.”
“I'd tell him. If it's meant to be he'll just go blow off steam and come back. Besides, you were kind of on a break.”
“Not really.”
“Well, he pissed you off.”
“That's not any kind of reason to-” the lift doors opened to admit three maintenance members laden with tools and a cart with spare parts. “well, it's not a good enough reason.”
“True.” Ashley nodded. “Just trying to be on your side.”
They were silent until they arrived on the command deck. It was obvious that important things were about to happen. The hustle and bustle of people moving between communications, conference rooms, flight control and the bridge was intense. They strode across the dark decked concourse and through the officer's observation lounges automatic double doors.
There were only a few seats left, the rest were filled with command deck personnel who were organizing transmission packets and having a bite before their shifts began. The pair looked around and spotted a small two seated table beside the transparent outer hull. On their way to their seats they stopped at a materializer where Ashley ordered a tall, steamy blended coffee and a morning meal bar for them both.
The blue topped, glossy table for two reflected the dim light shed by the asteroid field outside. Black, grey and white; the expansive, quickly rotating field of stone and ice stretched well out of sight. Some kind of gravitational source had directed it to settle into a thin, circular shape.
The light reflected towards them was from a distant dwarf star. Observation areas that faced the rear of the ship would have a clear view of it and the shadow of the planet nearest as it crossed in front every three hours.
Ashley sipped from the safety cup and sighed. “I can't believe the blends Ayan programmed into the fabber. I've never seen a hazel nut, but it's like she reinvented coffee.”
“I can't believe they call materializers 'fabbers' on Earth,” Stephanie smirked.
“It's a lot easier to say than; 'materializer' or 'energy to matter fabricator' like some people do. It's catching on too, I even heard Captain say it yesterday.” Ashley brought up the social display on her thin, five centimetre wide comm unit.
“Thirty eight messages?” Stephanie boggled. “You weren't kidding when you said you were starting to get popular.”
“There are what, three thousand people on the ship? I'd have to be a hermit not to have a few.”
“I think I got four yesterday, one was from Laura, another from March and the other two were people who were trying to apply for security positions. I've had to cut several of my security people's access to Crewcast off during their shifts. People are obsessed. I don't see the point, really. If I wanted to hang out with crew members I'd rather do it face to face.”
“Aw, don't be bitter. You'll have more than you can handle before you know it. I can see why you'd have a harder time getting to know people on the ship though, you are the head of security. People just have to notice you're not a buzz kill. Oh, and what did March want?”
“To give me crap for revoking his certifications. I told him that if he cheated on his qualifiers then there's no way he's getting out of grade one maintenance.”
“Oh, so that's where they put him.”
“Yup, he's carting equipment around, hauling refuse to mass converters and cleaning the last few unexplored parts of the ship. Captain assigned him the rank of Crewman's Mate.”
Ashley chuckled to herself. “I thought Crewman was the lowest rank. Serves him right for nearly blowing us up over Sheffield. Hope he likes being a maintenance monkey, I don't think he'll be getting promoted.”
“I thoug
ht you'd like that. He's still pissed though, and he's hanging out with Shamus now.”
“That's gotta be awkward.”
“He wants Shamus to set him up with you.”
“Hell no. Not in a billion, trillion, frivillion years.”
“I don't think frivillion is a proper measure of time,” Agameg said from behind Ashley.
“Just made it up. It means as long as anyone has ever imagined plus a day.” Ashley grinned up at him. “Steal a chair and have a seat.”
Agameg did just that and sat down with his chocolaty breakfast drink. “Finn is finishing the last trial of the wormhole transmission systems before the first burst transmission, he says hello.”
“I know, he sent me a message. I guess he didn't sleep last night.”
“He said he couldn't. When he found out Ayan wasn't going to take over the permanent installation of our stolen wormhole generator and hypertransmitter he started taking things much more seriously. He doesn't blame her, not with her and Laura working on enhancing the engine rebuild that's set to start as soon as we find a safe port.”
“Like he wasn't taking that thing seriously before? I don't think there's anyone who understands it better.”
“You may be right. Working with Chief Grady he even managed to get the micro fusion cells working with the rest of the ship, increasing our power output twenty percent while leaving enough independent cells inside the wormhole generator so it can power itself in an emergency.”
“I love having an escape route,” Ashley said. “I'm going to have to thank Finn after he gets a couple days sleep.”
“How are the repairs on the bridge coming?” Stephanie asked.
“They're finished. Ayan seems to know how to motivate people while maintaining good relations. Frankly I've never seen any ship so busy but people seem to be happy following her and Chief Grady.”
“Wow, that only took what, four days?”
“Three and a half. Everyone has already transferred there. It's like nothing happened only the ready quarters have been moved. They're on top of the bridge now.”
Ashley checked Alice's status and frowned.
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