She shook her head. “The level of new cases is lower, which is good. And no urgent calls.”
“Something else bothering you?”
“Frankly, I’m a bit uncomfortable with the skill level and attitude of some of the nurses. Not Bevar or Vicente, who are both ex-military and top notch. The day nurse—Relba?—she’s been something of a challenge since day one.”
Jake paused. “I’m sure Captain Fleming would want a full report before you leave us at the end of the cruise. Dr. Meers was responsible for hiring the medical staff when we crewed the ship.”
Emily laughed. “I need to remember this isn’t a military vessel, and you probably don’t have too many life-or-death situations. I’m sure the existing staff is all much better at dealing with pampered guests than I am.” She surveyed the dishes—a luscious salad with chilled seafood of various types, freshly baked rolls, five kinds of dressing and, off to the side, an assortment of desserts. “This is some picnic Maeve laid on.”
He raised his eyebrows. “How do you know I didn’t pick the menu?”
“Oh, sorry. I tend to think Maeve’s in charge of all aspects of life on this ship.”
“She doesn’t handle everything, I assure you.”
“Well, it’s delicious.” Emily popped a tangy bite of spiced shrimp into her mouth and savored the taste. “Is there a special occasion?”
“This is a get-to-know-you-better dinner,” Jake said. “Since we have to work together for the next few weeks. And you seemed uncomfortable with dining in a group setting, although I’ve heard you were excellent with the guests at the captain’s table the other night. And even though you appeared to be having fun at the beach party, you ducked out early. You need time off, away from the job, especially with the outbreak going on.”
Unaccountably disappointed, she set her fork on the plate, the food suddenly tasteless. “So is this part of your babysitting duties? Make sure the doc with possible PTSD issues takes a break? Doesn’t go off on another bender when she’s needed most?”
He gave her a level glance. “Partly, although I told you before, it’s not babysitting. It’s watching out for another veteran’s well-being. Although, I must say you seem like a different person today from the woman who came on board.”
“It’s true,” she admitted. “When I’m busy, I don’t have time to think, no flashbacks. I volunteered at the ER on Harilon in an attempt to stay meaningfully occupied.”
“There’s a fine line between being occupied and being overwhelmed,” he said, pouring the dressing on his salad.
An awkward silence fell for a few moments. Wanting to ease the tension and feeling it was her fault the conversation had withered, she said, “I enjoy the holo sunset Maeve is providing. You were right, this place is lovely and—and not at all like other places.” Emily raised her glass. “A toast to peace and quiet in the right measure.”
“I can drink to that.” He clinked glasses with her. After taking a deep pull on the feelgood, he set his glass on the table and said, “I have something else to show you on our ship later, after dinner. A special feature I think you might like even better than the beach.”
“Now you’ve got my curiosity engaged,” Emily said.
“Good, but we should enjoy the meal first.”With a wicked grin and a wink, he leaned closer and said, “Anticipation and all that.”
After dessert, Jake said, “Are you ready to see something no passenger and few crew members ever behold?” Leaving his chair, he held out his hand.
She patted her lips delicately before dropping the napkin next to her plate. “As long as we’re not going to visit Maeve’s core, yes.”
“I promise, we won’t be going anywhere near Maeve’s consciousness capsule.” As Jake walked off the beach hand in hand with Emily and strolled into the corridor, he asked, “Is it all AI’s you have a problem with, or just ours?”
“You’re imagining things.” Put on the defensive, she allowed her annoyance to come through.
“Maybe.” Jake eyed her. “You get a tone in your voice whenever you talk about Maeve.”
“Every military ship I’ve ever served on had its own version of Maeve,” she said. “But AI’s are usually less personal, less likely to speak up at any moment. I guess I’ve never considered how a civilian AI, especially on a cruise ship, has to interact with other sentients. She can be a bit overwhelming. Intrusive.”
To her relief, he let the subject drop. He escorted Emily to Deck 9, off-limits to passengers.
“What’s on this level?” she asked, glancing left and right as she strolled through the corridor. “Has a disappointingly utilitarian aspect. I might even say boring, if I wasn’t reluctant to insult you.” She flashed him a smile.
“Hydroponics, food storage, some other internal ship functions.” Jake stopped at a portal halfway along the passageway. He keyed it open, allowing her to step inside first. As the door slid shut behind them, he led the way. The short hallway opened out into a lush hydroponic garden. Emily watched a few robots gliding along the aisles, tending to the plants. Misters were running in some sections.
She leaned close to Jake, enjoying the whiff of his aftershave. “Not to burst your bubble, but I’ve seen gardens before.”
“Patience, Doc. We’re just passing through.” On the heels of his remark, she arrived at a blank bulkhead.
“Really? Seems to me we ran out of ship,” she said with a laugh.
“Watch carefully,” Jake said as he rested his palm on a section of the wall.
A previously disguised portal slid open, wide enough for one person to pass through. Again, he allowed Emily to go first, and she heard the door close behind him.
She stopped in midstep, speechless. She’d entered a paradise of green plants laden with lush flowers in deep jewel tones. The perfume filled the air without being overwhelming. Tiny insects of variegated colors flitted from one blossom to the next, filling the air with a soothing hum while buzzing by her on their way to sip from the next flower. Thick green grass cushioned her footfalls, like the most expensive carpet a generational billionaire could buy, and when she raised her head to check the ceiling, there was a stunning holo of blue sky dotted with a few wispy white clouds. Emily heard the music of a small brook running along the path in front of her. She took a deep breath, relaxing muscle by muscle, consciously exerting herself to think calm thoughts.
Jake was watching her, a half smile on his face. “Surprised?”
She spun in a circle, trying to see the extent of the garden. “Is this real?”
“Except for the sky, yes.” He held out his hand. “Let me show you the best part.”
Twining her fingers with his, she allowed him to draw her along the path, deeper into the greenery. A short way from the door there was a small fountain and a stone bench, intricately carved. To the left was a circular space of gleaming white sand, with a few unfaceted semiprecious stones the size of her fist set here and there amidst ripples and patterns someone had drawn. A short, three-pronged rake carved from a smooth, dark wood leaned against the nearest trellis.
“Have a seat.” Jake urged her to take the bench, which was big enough for only one person. He sank cross-legged onto the lush vegetation next to her, pulled up a skinny blade of grass and chewed on it.
“What is this place?” she asked. Stone or not, the bench felt as if it was adjusting to her, making her comfortable. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think we stepped through a magic portal to somewhere off the ship.”
“You’re sitting in a Tadochi contemplation garden constructed by a master from the main temple,” Jake said, gesturing at their surroundings. “Our Chief Engineer, believe it or not, comes from a high-ranking family on the planet with strong ties to the priesthood. He’s a veteran too. He was at Sector Ninety and the Battle of Lagardeen Three. I’d put his PTSD flashbacks and nightmares up against yours and mine combined.”
“So he asked his people to send someone to create this? On a cruise ship?”
Jake nodded. “Once we knew we were going to make a go of this cargo-hauling and cruise-ship thing, once we—the core team of us who followed Captain Fleming into this venture—chose this ship as our home for the rest of our lives, Chief Takkei said we needed it.”
“You? Not the ship?”
He shook his head. “Maeve doesn’t have any ganglions in this compartment. None.”
Her jaw dropped. “How did you keep the area clear?”
“She agreed not to intrude. Anyone who comes here needs to know their privacy is absolute. Only the most trusted personnel have access, and Takkei embedded some secret device of his own devising into all the bulkheads to prevent AI penetration in case Maeve ever did renege on her word.” He flashed a grin. “Takkei is not the most trusting person.” He paused for a moment, reflecting. “I got Takkei and Fleming to agree to let you access the garden. Normally, only one person can be in here at a time. The portal won’t open if someone’s already in here. You and I are sharing my key while you’re on the Zephyr.”
“I’m overwhelmed.” She leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a moment. “I don’t know what to say.”
He was silent, then cleared his throat a little. “You’re the Angel of Fantalar whether you like the title or not. A lot of good men and women owe you their lives. I owe you mine. This is the least we here on the Zephyr can do to make your time with us more tolerable.” Reaching out, he captured her hand and squeezed her fingers gently. “Sharing our meditation space doesn’t begin to repay you for your service, Emily.”
Apparently sensing her need for a few moments alone to regain her composure, he released her hand and walked across the open space, seating himself at the edge of the sand.
Emily drew a deep, centering breath, bowed her head and closed her eyes, feeling as if she was floating in a peaceful sea. Eventually she opened her eyes and stretched lazily as she searched for him. Smiling when their glances met, she said, “What kind of flowers are those?”
“Why?”
“I got a rush of endorphins and calming hormones as if I’ve taken a relaxant of some kind. I was wondering if the perfume was narcotic—”
“Peace of Mellure,” he interrupted her.
“Excuse me? Is peace a species of flower? Like a rose variety?”
“You’ve heard of the Mellureans, of course?”
“Who hasn’t? An older civilization from long before the time the first human launched himself or herself into near-planet space on old Terra. Telepathic, mysterious, aloof, all powerful.” She ticked the attributes off on her fingers as she made the half-joking list. “Am I missing anything?”
“You pretty much covered it,” he agreed.
She nodded. “Have you ever met one?”
“No, I haven’t. Oddly enough, Red has, but that’s another story. You’ll have to ask him about it sometime. It’s not all classified. Captain Fleming’s got some kind of an in with the Mellureans. No idea what.” Jake shrugged. “You’ve met our captain—he doesn’t chitchat or share war stories over drinks much. Apparently, at some time he was involved with them, and when Takkei set up this garden, Fleming got the Mellureans to bless it. He’s got bad memories in his personal database too. We all do.”
Astonished, she glanced around. “There were Mellureans here?”
“No. I don’t know what they did from afar, but there’s some kind of spell almost, on this garden. I was told it’s akin to the Peace, which a Mellurean can grant to another sentient, if the telepath so chooses.” He answered her unspoken question. “A spooky mind-power thing, like a lot of what the Mellureans do.” He shivered, the instinctive reaction being all the more impressive to Emily coming from this powerful warrior. Seeing her raised eyebrows, he laughed. “I can’t imagine voluntarily letting someone sift through all my memories. I couldn’t let anyone have access to my head, not enough to undergo the process anyway. Not even to have freedom from the nightmares and flashbacks.”
“Why would anyone? Why would the Mellureans be willing to do it?” Emily found herself struggling with the concept from every angle.
“Red says he heard a rumor in the teams that Jameson, the guy who saved all those people on the Nebula Dream, might have gotten the Peace as a reward, or something similar to it. There was a Mellurean with him on the doomed ship.”
“Does Red—”
“Yeah, he comes here once in a while. He got out of the service pretty clean, as far as trauma, although he saw a lot of action in nasty places, believe me.” Jake answered her next question before she could ask. “Meg’s civilian all the way. Had some scary times on her last cruise, though.”
“She mentioned Shemdylann pirates—did Meg and Red actually have to fight off those vermin?”
Jake nodded. “Bad situation, from what I was told. Quite a few deaths, but not like what we endured in combat. Not to minimize her experience, of course, but we had years of crap happening. You deal with it when it’s going on, you can lock the memories and emotions away and function—hell, you have to do that. But once Command cuts you loose, once you don’t have people around you who get it, who know what you know…” He was silent for a moment, lost in his own thoughts. Raising his head, he said, “The toll on a person can get bad.”
“Yes, it can,” she said under her breath.
“Meg doesn’t have her own access to the Tadochi garden, although Red could bring her and no one would raise an eyebrow.”
“Meg’s good people,” Emily agreed.
“Anyone can see she’s a perfect fit for Red. Lucky guy. But he doesn’t share the veterans’ garden with her.” Jake rose, dusting off his pants. “You good, then?”
Doing a double take at his matter of fact preparations to depart alone, she asked, “Are you going to leave me here?”
“If you’d like. You saw where the hidden panel was, to access the garden?”
Realizing she’d like to be alone in the peaceful space for a time, Emily nodded. “Thank you. Do I need to do anything special before I leave?”
“No, it’s all yours. You can draw in the sand if you find acting like a little kid relaxing. It’s not my orbit, but Takkei and a couple of the others swear by it.” Taking a deep breath, he glanced across the garden before issuing several final admonitions. “Don’t mention this place to anyone, and no taking anything outside the portal.” He pointed at the fragrant blooms, an exaggerated frown on his face. He winked. “No exotic flowers for the cabin, sorry.”
“I wouldn’t dream of being so selfish.” She rose, holding out her hand.
Head tilted, he studied her. “What?”
Emily went to him, putting her arms around him for a long moment, resting her head on his chest. “Thank you.” He hugged her, and Emily enjoyed the shared closeness and the feel of his solid muscles pressed against her.
“There’s an emergency button under the seat,” he said. “At the left, in case anything happens and you need help. Only those of us with access here would get the call.”
She stepped away. “I’ll be fine, but good to know.”
“Takkei’s a practical guy, leaves no contingency uncovered. I’ll be going now. See you tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
He did an about-face and took the first step along the path toward the exit.
Reaching a decision, deciding to take a chance and risk rejection, she said his name softly. “Jake?”
“Yes?”
“Let me treat you to dinner tomorrow night?”
A pleased expression lit up his face. “I’d be honored.” Then he frowned. “But getting another date isn’t why I brought you here. There are no strings attached to this access.”
“I know, don’t worry.”
CHAPTER NINE
As the garden portal shut behind him, Jake hoped he’d done the right thing. Dr. Shane was a woman on the brink of a breakdown if he’d ever seen one. How in the seven hells had the military medics let her retire without proper treatment for the trauma she’d s
uffered on Fantalar? Well, he knew the answer—as he’d said to her, she was a doctor, had all the proper responses the decision-making medicos would be listening for at her fingertips. Besides, she was a hero known throughout the entire Sectors civilization, and he’d bet anything no one had wanted to probe beneath the façade of that valuable commodity. Command had made a big deal about her sacrifice and bravery. Civilians didn’t want to know what price was paid for the achievement.
No soldier enjoyed being taken apart and put back together again by the psych techs. Hell, he’d minimized his own experiences, when it came right down to it. The less therapy the better had been his motto. He’d been sure he was tough enough to deal with his demons on his own. But then, once he’d realized after a few intense flashback episodes how wrong he was, he’d been smart enough to seek out his own solutions, where apparently Emily was trying to keep the sum total of her unbearable experiences inside, and hide. When she wasn’t crawling into a bottle of high-end feelgoods, followed by emergence from oblivion thanks to massive amounts of headclear to make her functional again. He hadn’t missed the fact that she’d told Maeve to give her a second dose the other night, which was probably enough to submerge an ordinary person in a coma for a week. It took a long time and many benders to build up a tolerance so epic. Good thing headclear itself wasn’t addicting.
Having Maeve talk to her wasn’t an option. Jake shook his head as he descended in the gravlift. From the little she’d said tonight, Emily had a real aversion to the AI all right. Best to leave that relationship alone, probably.
Getting off on the Level 1 deck, he proceeded to the suite of the Hereditary Princess, where he was admitted without delay and ushered into a sitting room where Lady Scorsshyn kept him waiting for a good fifteen minutes. Holding on to his temper, reminding himself the circle of high-paying clientele in the Sectors compared notes and gave each other references on their experiences, good and bad, Jake greeted her when she finally arrived. “I received a message you’d like to talk to me? Since I’m free right now, I thought perhaps we could meet tonight, rather than wait until tomorrow.”
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