“No.”
“Okay then. If you want to keep talking, look at my face.”
“We’re done.”
“You can say that again.”
I turned around and held my hand up. The doors didn’t open. I waved my hand back and forth over the flat red sensor mounted to the wall, but nothing happened. Neptune raised his open palm and the doors parted.
“Showoff,” I said. I stormed across the hall. He didn’t follow.
When I reentered my quarters, I found Cat sitting on the table. Pika was asleep in my bed. I changed into a silver jumpsuit made for lounging in the off hours. Like my blankets, the fabric adjusted to temperature but was also shot through with color-morphing threads. I set the dial to a soothing shade of amber and pulled my tools out of the closet.
My motivation for repairing Cat wasn’t entirely because I wanted a distraction. When I’d built him, I’d inserted a small recording device. It only retained twenty-four hours of content because I hadn’t seen a need for more, but now that I knew Cat had been with Pika, and for a portion of that time, Pika had been with Neptune, I wanted to know what they’d said.
Working with tools on a problem such as this had become second nature before I’d turned ten. My dad had been the first to notice how I’d take things apart and rebuild them. At first, it was a game to see if I could. Once I mastered the reassembly portion, I’d learned how to make things better. Soon the other kids on Plunia showed up with their broken toys and gadgets, and after that, it was their parents. I quickly learned my skills weren’t common, and the families who treated my parents poorly quickly learned my repair work came with a price. I’d hidden the money from my parents because I didn’t think they’d let me keep it. The longer I went without spending it, the more I knew once I did, it would be for something important.
I’d spent it all on a doctor willing to fake the results of my physical so I could work on Moon Unit 5. Look where that had gotten me.
I pulled on my magnification goggles and peered into the exposed power panel on Cat’s tush. The problem was easily identifiable. The exposed wires needed to be looped around the recording circuits and then reconnected to the grounding screw. Piece of cake. I picked up the smallest of my tools and set to work. A few minutes later, Cat was back up on all fours. I closed the power panel on his rump and pressed the playback button on his recorder.
“There’s a problem with the hull.”
“Engineering fixed that on day one. I conducted an inspection myself.” I would have recognized the voices even if I hadn’t already overheard the beginning of the conversation. Neptune and Captain Swift. This was the conversation they’d started before leaving me alone in the uniform ward. Pika must have been there the whole time.
“I didn’t do it!” Pika said, sitting up in my bed. She looked around the room like she expected to get into trouble.
“It’s fine, Pika. Neptune isn’t here.”
“But I heard him!” She pulled the covers up to her chin.
“You heard Cat.” I pointed to the robot animal on the table. “Were you in the uniform ward today? Somewhere near Neptune and Captain Swift?”
Her eyes widened, but she didn’t answer.
“I already know you were. Cat recorded their conversation. You must have been close to them if Cat picked up their conversation.”
“I lost him,” she said. “We were playing in a room with screens and then the giant and the captain came in. I got scared and hid under the table, and when they weren’t looking, I left.”
“You didn’t hear what they said?”
“No. Some. Yes.”
I set Cat on the table and moved to the foot of the bed. “Pika, why are you so scared of Neptune? Did he hurt you?”
“No! But he told me if I talked about him, he’d drop me off at the nearest space station.”
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one on the ship that Neptune tried to control with his threats. Except now, I was pretty sure I had dirt that I could leverage against him.
“Listen to me,” I said. I reached up and ran my fingertips over the base of my skull. “I’ll take care of Neptune. He won’t do to you what he did to me.”
“He saved your life,” she said.
“Is that what he told you? He didn’t save my life, he marked me for life. He inserted a microchip into me. Now anywhere I go, I’ll be identified as an intergalactic law-breaker. I can’t hide. Whenever I pass a security checkpoint, the chip will trigger an alarm. Nobody will listen to anything I say. You don’t get chipped by accident.”
She moved her head from side to side, her eyes never leaving my face. “The giant shot you with an ice pellet. I saw him take the chips out of Doc Edison’s gun and replace them with dry ice. He knew there was a chance somebody in that room would demand you got chipped but he didn’t know who it would be. When Doc resisted, the ice pellet started to melt. If anybody had seen water drip from the muzzle of the chip gun, they would have known what the giant did. And if anybody else acted when Doc hesitated, you would have been chipped.”
“Neptune didn’t chip me?”
“No.”
I touched the back of my neck again and felt the wound. “I don’t get it. Neptune is security. He should be the one to follow orders. Why would he go against them?”
“He was trying to protect you.”
“Why?”
“Because he likes you.”
27: Not Chipped
I kept my fingers on my neck. The wound I’d felt last night had healed over and the skin felt like my normal Plunian skin: smooth but tough, like latex stretched over my musculature and bones. It seemed Pika was telling the truth.
“The session in Council Chambers happened yesterday” I said. “This morning, you were here. You tied me to the bed. You said Neptune told you to watch me.”
“You were maaaaad.” Pika drew out the word. “The giant was afraid you’d hurt yourself.”
“Pika, how do you know Neptune?”
Her eyes grew wide and her ears popped up. “I told you, I’m not allowed to say.”
All yesterday I’d operated under the assumption that Neptune had chipped me. The anger, the secrets, the threats. And the new evidence I’d uncovered.
Neptune didn’t know about that. He didn’t know about D’Nar’s melted fingernail or the truth about Vaan’s presence on Moon Unit 5.
“I have to talk to him. He said he was going on a mission. Where is he, surveillance? Is he in The Space Bar? Go into the closet and hand me the aqua chiffon dress. I’ll meet him there.”
“He’s outside.”
“Outside where? There is no outside. We’re in the middle of the galaxy.”
She pointed to the wall of the ship and nodded. “He went out there.”
“He can’t go out there. He’ll die.”
“That’s why he told you to watch me. He’s not coming back.” Pika’s eyes grew double the size they’d been. A giant tear dropped onto her cheek and ran down her round pink face.
I put my hands on Pika’s narrow shoulders and made her face me. “Are you telling me Neptune is planning to leave the confines of the ship?” She nodded. “Do you know why?” She nodded again. “You have to tell me.”
“I can’t. I’ll get in trouble.”
“You have to.”
“No.”
I’d forgotten how quickly a Gremlon could move. Before I could stop her, she was at the door. The sudden motion caused them to open. I lost valuable chasing time maneuvering around the table. By the time I was out the door, she’d disappeared down the hallway.
I went back to my quarters and dropped into the chair. This had been the craziest week of my life and it wasn’t over yet. An hour ago, I’d had a person to blame. As it turned out, that person had saved my life. Up was down. Black was white. My home planet had been destroyed. Everybody I knew was on this ship, and I couldn’t trust any of them.
I sat up a little straighter when the reality of that thought hit
me. There was one person who had risked his career to save my life, and if Pika was telling the truth, he was about to risk his own life next. If something—anything—happened to him, a killer would go free, and the ship still wouldn’t be safe.
I had to find Neptune. If only Pika had told me more.
But something she’d said stayed with me. She was afraid she’d get in trouble for hiding. Hiding where? The where didn’t matter as much as the why. Neptune already knew she was on the ship. She pretended to be scared of him, but she didn’t hide from him. She’d been hiding from someone else. And she knew what Neptune was about to do.
I remembered the captain coming to the uniform ward and talking to Neptune. “There’s a problem with the hull,” he’d said. And I’d heard it repeated right here in my quarters because Cat had recorded it.
I put my magnification goggles back on and used the pointy end of my tool to trigger the playback mechanism on Cat. Static sounded, at first, and a shock coursed through the metal into my fingers. I dropped the tool, shook out my hand, and then picked it back up and tried again.
“There’s a problem with the hull.”
“Engineering fixed that on day one. I conducted an inspection myself.”
“I’m not sure how it happened, but the atmospheric changes in the past twenty-four hours have slowly eroded the repair work. We’ve lost four drones trying to analyze the depth of the problem. You’re going to have to go out there.”
Neptune cursed. “How did you lose the drones?”
“Someone within our force field has been using a radio disruptor. The ship has to be fixed manually.”
Static returned. I shifted the point of my tool on the playback button and a small spark flew out of Cat, followed by a tendril of thin smoke. I’d fried his motherboard and now the rest of the conversation was gone.
Short of searching the ship, I had no idea where I’d find Neptune. He could be in security quarters downstairs, or in the supply room, or having his last meal. For all I knew, he was already on his mission. I didn’t have time to waste on the wrong lead. Focus, Sylvia. Remember emergency protocols.
Conservancy of tactics: In an emergency situation, the best action is the one that requires the least effort and most potential gain.
Translated: don’t waste time looking for Neptune. Find a way to make Neptune find me.
I didn’t change out of my lounging jumpsuit. Instead, I ran toward the uniform ward. The plan: find my old security uniform in the laundry bin. Activate the communication device in the insignia. Ask Neptune for his location.
It was a good plan. So good, that when I got there, I ran smack into Neptune.
Who was in his own state of undress.
“Whoa!” I said after bouncing off his bare torso. I turned my back to him and held my hand over my eyes. “Okay. Great. I found you. I guess we’re even now.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I found out what you’re about to do. Don’t ask me how I know. I just do. And I know what you did to me. What you didn’t do to me. I don’t know why you did—didn’t—do it, but I know.”
“We can talk about that later.”
“If you go outside this ship to examine the hull, there might not be a later,” I said. My voice cracked, betraying the badass soldier I’d been hoping to channel.
Neptune’s giant hand closed around my upper arm and he spun me around. He was in his trousers, but his chest was still bare. He looked down at me, his face serious. “Go back to your quarters, Stryker. You’re not needed here.”
“Stop being so stubborn! If there’s an external problem with the ship, you need the best possible person to handle the difficulties that might come with fixing it. That’s me, not you. Get over your whole ‘I’m in charge’ thing and deal with it.”
Okay, there’s my inner badass! Except I’d just volunteered for a suicide mission.
We glared at each other. Neptune may have won more of these sorts of face-off battles in his life, but before he won this one, there was something I had to say.
“Pika told me you saved my life.”
He arched one eyebrow into a sharp point. Three creases appeared on his forehead, running a diagonal pattern downward toward the eyebrow that wasn’t raised. He kept his eyebrow arched as if waiting for me to continue before determining whether he could relax his face.
“They were going to chip me and you saved me. I can’t say I understand why, but I’m grateful and I’m sorry for what I said last night.”
“You remember what you said?”
“Not really, but I know what I was thinking when I woke up, so I’m guessing some of that came out before I went to sleep.”
His eyebrow relaxed. He picked up the black T-shirt that rested on top of the center console and pulled it on and then crossed his arms over his chest.
“Whatever you’re about to do, it’s not safe,” I said.
“The security of the ship is at risk. That’s my job.”
“Last time I checked, it was my job too. You said it yourself: I’m part of the security team.”
“I’m not sending you out there.”
“Neptune, there are a lot of things you’re better at than I am, but not this. The Plunian part of me has a higher tolerance for atmospheric changes in pressure. If I wear my helmet, I can regulate my oxygen.” I dropped my chin and looked at the floor. What I was volunteering to do, what I was asking Neptune to let me do, was so much more than what I’d signed up for when I’d hacked into the computer and uploaded my files to the crew roster.
It didn’t matter. When I’d boarded this ship, I’d had hope for the future and what this job could turn into for me. I’d wanted to cut ties with the people who judged me by my dad’s corruption. I’d wanted to make my mother proud. I’d wanted to prove that a part Plunian/part earthling who was the daughter of a poor ice miner could make more of herself than anybody expected.
None of that mattered anymore. Everything I’d held dear was gone.
When I looked back at Neptune, he was still staring at me, but his expression had changed from judgment to assessment. If he were applying the principles I’d expected to learn from him at the academy, then he was weighing the odds of a successful mission with him outside the ship versus me. Of every single argument I could have made: youth, size, agility, girl power, it all came down to one thing.
“You have to let me do it. I have nothing left to lose.”
28: Nothing to Lose
Neptune walked to the locked cabinet mounted on the wall. He entered a ten-character code into the keypad and the cabinet opened. Inside were uniforms unlike any I’d seen on the ship. Thick, flame-retardant fabric with accordion-like pleats at the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. Orange reflectors were evenly spaced at ten-centimeter intervals. It was big enough to accommodate a separate uniform underneath.
Neptune pulled one from the top of the pile and handed it to me. “Put this on. It’s insulated against temperature and pressure changes. I’ll supply you with fresh oxygen canisters after you’re suited up.”
“Okay.” I took the uniform from him and undid the zip closure. I put one foot into it. Neptune tapped my shoulder. When I turned around, he was holding the black security staff uniform I’d planned to retrieve. “Wear this underneath.”
“Why?”
“I’ll be able to hear you through the transmitter.” He handed me the uniform. “I’ll wait out front.”
“Neptune.” He stopped just before reaching the door. “No matter what happens tonight, you’ll still have a problem. Someone wants to destroy Moon Unit 5, and they’ve already killed once to protect their identity. Focus on the murder and you’ll catch them.”
“Why do you say that?”
“It was the secondary crime. It was sloppy. I’ve been thinking about what I saw when I found the body, and I’ve come up with a list of suspects.”
“We’ll talk about this later.”
“There might not be a later.”
“You’re coming back, Stryker.” He raised his hand and the doors opened.
I needed to make him listen to me. I knew more than he did: about D’Nar’s nail polish and Pika hiding in the uniform room and Vaan and my history. I knew Doc Edison had tanks of gas in Medi-Bay and could easily have smuggled carbon monoxide onto the ship. I knew Purser Frank lied about nitrous oxide at Happy Hour, Uma Tolst had access to the reserve of gas tanks as well, and Martians had baited me before I attacked them.
Neptune had to listen to me. I had to make him. I said the one thing I’d been holding back. “I know you were stripped of your title.”
He froze. He turned his head slightly to the side. “Get into uniform. We’ll finish this conversation in the repair chamber. I’ll wait outside.” He turned away from me and left.
I changed from my temperature-adjusting jumpsuit into my security uniform and pulled on the white space suit over it. The sleeves, hem, and neck of the suit had metal grooves that would lock onto my boots, gloves and bubble helmet. I secured my boots to the hems of the suit, picked up my bubble helmet and my gloves, and left the safety of the uniform ward behind me.
We walked in silence. It wasn’t unlike the other times I’d walked with Neptune through the ship, except this time I wouldn’t have minded some innocuous chatter. We took the elevator down to the security level where I’d spent time in the holding cell before proving myself a hero. I guess there were some things I was doomed to repeat.
The pressurized entrance to the repair chamber was on the wall behind the desk where Neptune had sat. He activated a number of buttons on the control panel and then flipped a large red switch on the wall. The dial behind him spun slowly. He grabbed one of the spokes, leveraged his body weight against the concrete wall with one of his boots, and pulled. For all the times I’d seen him flex his sizeable biceps, this time he did it out of necessity and not intimidation. He opened the round door and tipped his head.
“Get inside. We’ll talk once we’re secure.”
I stepped into the chamber. Unlike the dinginess of the rest of the security level, the repair chamber was bright white, shiny, and pristine. A channel of air jetted past me into a vacuum, designed to keep anything from settling inside.
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