Empaths (Pyreans Book 1)

by S. H. Jucha

  Harbour was standing behind Dingles’ position on the Belle’s bridge, as the colony ship drew close to the final stage of its flight to Triton. Dingles had the navigator position, with Danny seated next to him as pilot. The approach the spacers took to the massive moon could be characterized as slow and careful. It was one thing to boost the colony ship into open space; it was another thing to bring it to a halt short of a moon and two ships. On top of that, the spacers, who were Harbour’s crew, had never operated a ship remotely the size of the Belle.

  “Dingles, recommendation for final position,” Harbour said.

  “Captain, this is the Spryte, and the ship to its left is the Annie,” Dingles replied, pointing out two dots displayed on his monitor.

  “I want the Belle placed equidistant from the two ships. Call it showing equal opportunity for Captain Cinders’ spacers.”

  “Aye, Captain, we don’t play favorites. Danny, what’s your recommendation on distance.”

  “The Spryte and Annie are close … less than thirty kilometers apart, Dingles. I wouldn’t want to bring this big girl any closer than fifty kilometers to those two ships.”

  “Place us at sixty kilometers from both ships, Dingles … same orbital height,” Harbour ordered.

  “Aye, aye, Captain. Danny, let’s take the declination position, and let’s crawl into place. No sense striking fear into those spacers’ hearts, while they watch us hurtle at them.”

  “Decelerating to thirty kilometers per hour, Dingles. We’ll tiptoe into position.”

  Harbour carefully watched the spacers who occupied positions left and right of Dingles and Danny. Before she was elected captain, she had never visited the Belle’s bridge and had no inclination to do so. Afterwards, she’d spent more and more time here. Often, before they launched, only one or two spacers would be present, but she would ply them with questions about their operational procedures and the panels, which controlled those operations.

  One subject that those conversations uncovered had nearly scared Harbour to death. Several times, spacers had spoken about decompression drills and vac suit protocols. A conversation with Dingles revealed that there were fewer than sixty vac suits on the colony ship. Most of them were owned by the engineering team and some by the spacers, who made occasional trips outside the ship, supported by small repair vehicles.

  * * *

  Jessie, Ituau, and Jeremy Kinsman, the ship’s navigator, were observing the approach of the Belle from the Spryte’s bridge.

  “Well, the quarantine clock has just been reset to zero … six more months,” Jeremy remarked.

  “But this time, we’ll have enough food to go the distance,” Ituau riposted. She glanced at Jessie, who was wearing a slight scowl.

  “She’s changing course, Captain, and coming in dead slow,” Jeremy reported. He was on duty at Jessie’s request. “Looks like they’re being careful, Captain. You can appreciate Dingles’ oversight of the crew.”

  “Let me correct your assumptions, my young spacer,” Ituau replied, taking on the lecturing tone she used to correct wayward thinking. “I’ve had several conversations with Dingles, while Captain Harbour was recovering her voice. According to Dingles, after the captain could return to her cabin and before medical even released her for active duty, she was making the decisions. For instance, look at this,” Ituau said, approaching Jeremy’s navigation screen and pointing to his plotting vectors.

  “According to your navigation summary, Jeremy, you project the Belle, which is dropping velocity and on this new vector, will end up about here. Now, ask yourself where would Dingles take up station, if he were in charge of the crew? Would it be equidistant from our ships?”

  Jeremy obviously didn’t have enough knowledge about the man he replaced, so he glanced at Jessie for help.

  “It’s about loyalties, Jeremy,” Jessie explained. “The Spryte was Dingles’ last ship. He’d have parked the Belle as close to our ship as he could safely manage. But, because of the colony ship’s size, it would have required him to take up station on the side of the Spryte opposite the Annie.”

  “Okay, I get that Captain Harbour, not Dingles, is making the decisions,” Jeremy replied. “Then what does it mean that she’s choosing to place the Belle equidistant from our two ships? I mean, both of them belong to you, Captain.”

  “And now you’re beginning to think like an officer, Jeremy,” Jessie said. “What you’ve asked requires us to consider how this captain thinks. She might be coming to rescue us, and, then again, she might have something else on her mind, who knows?”

  “I like the way you’re thinking, Captain … paranoid as usual,” Ituau commented.

  “It’s called being careful, Ituau, not paranoid,” Jessie replied, grinning, and he slapped Ituau’s broad back. “Let me know when the Belle achieves zero velocity,” Jessie added, as he exited the bridge.

  “Aye, Captain.”

  * * *

  “Captain, a word, please,” Dingles said, and vacated his seat on the bridge. The Belle was in the hands of Danny, and he was minutes from bringing the ship to zero velocity.

  Danny might have looked calm, cool, and collected, but Harbour could sense his anxiety and could commiserate. Moving the Belle was proving to be an enormous challenge for every one of her crew and more so for her.

  Harbour paused behind Danny before joining Dingles. She laid a hand on his shoulder and whispered, “You’re doing a great job, pilot,” and alleviated his angst with a gentle sending.

  “It’s a small point, Captain,” Dingles said, when Harbour joined him. He had finished explaining the issue when Danny called out, “The big girl is stationary,” and was rewarded with a round of applause from the crew.

  “Comms, the Spryte, please. I need Captain Cinders,” Harbour requested.

  “Aye, aye, Captain. This is the Belle calling the Spryte,” Birdie said. Beatrice “Birdie” Andrews might be the oldest retired spacer aboard the Belle, if she would ever admit her age. When she heard Dingles was hiring, she begged him for the chance to sail again, and he found he couldn’t refuse the level of experience and superlative ratings she’d held.

  “Ituau here,” the first mate of the Spryte replied.

  Harbour tipped her head at the bridge speakers, and Birdie transferred the call. “Captain Harbour here, Ituau. Is Captain Cinders available?”

  “Certainly, Captain. Before I transfer your call, may I say we’re more than happy to see you reach us out here at our lovely resort moon, complete with a historic alien structure.”

  “We aim to please, Ituau,” Harbour replied, chuckling. She was feeling completely redeemed for her intention to launch the Belle and rescue Jessie and his people.

  “Captain Harbour, I must say I have mixed feelings about your arrival,” Jessie said, when he took up the call.

  “How’s that, Captain?”

  “While I’m grateful for your rescue, I’m concerned for the safety of you and your people.”

  “By my estimate, it’s been several weeks since you’ve been released from the dome. What symptoms are your people showing?”

  “None.”

  “Anything eating your ship … you know, dissolving the seals on vac suits or some such things?”

  “Nothing like that,” Jessie replied. He picked up the snickers of several people over the comm. “It’s polite, Captain, to notify someone if they’re on speaker.”

  “True, Captain, my apologies. My mind has been occupied with a few too many things lately. If it’s any consolation, I’m on the bridge with my crew.”

  “Hello, Captain,” Dingles called out, hoping to mollify Jessie.

  “Dingles, how are you feeling?” Jessie replied. The joy in the spacer’s voice was obvious.

  “Except for some aging bones, Captain, I’m one hundred percent.”

  “That’s good to hear, Dingles.”

  “Captain Cinders, Dingles informs me that our shuttle is too large to land in your bay, and it has no bottom docki
ng collar to accommodate entry via your ship’s axis. Would you be so kind as to visit us, Captain?”

  Dingles smiled to himself. He’d told Harbour about their shuttle’s incompatibility with Jessie’s ships to boost the impression of her as a knowledgeable captain. Instead, she opted to give credit where credit was due. He’d thought his life was over, when he was put on station because of his dementia. When he was rescued by Harbour from the creeping darkness of security confinement, he thought he’d received the best life a retired spacer had a right to be offered. That he was wrong in both cases delighted him. He was first mate of the largest ship the Pyreans had, and his new captain was proving to be pure metal.

  “I’d be happy to oblige, Captain.” Jessie replied. “Expect us within the hour.”

  “And please bring Aurelia, Captain. Helena and Sasha are anxious to see her.”

  There was a slight hesitation before Jessie agreed.

  “The Belle out,” Harbour said, ending the call.

  The crew turned from their panels at the sound of Harbour’s soft clapping. They smiled their appreciation, but it was the generous emotion that Harbour shared with them that was equally rewarding.

  * * *

  Harbour, Dingles, Danny, and other crew members approached the colony ship’s bay airlock. She was anxious to enter it and greet Jessie, Aurelia, and his crew the moment they exited the Spryte’s shuttle, but Dingles, clearing his throat, gave her pause.

  “Captain, spacer protocol. Captain Cinders and his people will be wearing vac suits. They’ll keep airtight until they cycle through the airlock and reach this corridor.”

  “Why, Dingles. Surely they know the Belle has the capacity to pressurize its bays.”

  “Spacers don’t change their habits, Captain, just because of different circumstances, and a mining ship hasn’t the luxuries of a colony ship. There’s been more than one accident with a docking collar on a ship’s axis. I’ve been involved in three. Each time the ship was protected by the airlock, and we were protected by our vac suits.”

  Harbour’s cool gray eyes regarded Dingles. “You must have been terrified when you first boarded the Belle’s shuttle without a vac suit and every time since then.”

  “Truth be told, Captain, I was so relieved to get out of security confinement that I didn’t care. I did study your shuttle’s build, the bay’s pressurization procedures, and its maintenance history before I boarded it a second time. Earth built some fine shuttles with excellent safety protocols, and Danny here has kept everything in excellent working order, considering the budget constraints.”

  “What about now?” Harbour asked, with concern.

  “Well, Captain, you might say that when you told me to ensure the Belle was ready to move, Danny received some additional coin and put it to good use.”

  “I knew there was a reason I made you first mate,” Harbour replied, sending Dingles her appreciation.

  “This is Captain Cinders aboard the Spryte shuttle calling the Belle,” Jessie said. He was sitting in the copilot seat, not wanting to miss a closeup view of the colony ship, which, he was sad to admit, he’d never taken the time to observe. “Comms, please relay to the captain our appreciation for the bay signal lights. The view of this huge ship from out here is enough to confuse even an experienced Belle shuttle pilot.”

  “I’ll relay your message, Captain Cinders,” Birdie replied. “Please signal when you’re ready to dock, and we’ll open for you.”

  Per Harbour’s orders, Birdie was relaying any communications with the shuttle to her comm unit, but Harbour kept her end muted.

  The bay door opened, and the Spryte’s shuttle eased inside. It was two-thirds the size of the Belle’s shuttle. Dingles cycled the bay via his comm unit, and, when the pilot found atmospheric pressure surrounding his shuttle, the hatch popped open.

  Jessie came down the steps first, his vac suit displaying his rank. Three more people followed him.

  Harbour’s people stepped away from the airlock to give the group room when they exited into the corridor. Helmet seals were cracked, and the Belle’s crew went into action, helping the visitors strip out of their vac suits. All of them were wearing undecorated skins, except Jessie, who had a subtle black-on-black pattern over the shoulders and upper arms.

  Sasha, who had been waiting impatiently for her sister to climb out of her suit, cried out in joy, and slammed into her, wrapping her arms tightly around Aurelia’s neck. Helena joined her daughters, embracing both of them.

  Those surrounding the family were engulfed in waves of happiness and relief. Some crew wore giddy expressions, and a few had tears in their eyes.

  “You have to love the right kind of family reunion,” Belinda whispered to Claudia, the Spryte’s shuttle pilot.

  “This is incredible,” Claudia whispered in return “I feel like a kid after my first freefall game.”

  Jessie stepped forward, greeted Harbour, and introduced his first crew member. “Captain Harbour, this is Belinda Kilmer, who’s been training our newbie.”

  “And receiving the better part of the arrangement,” Belinda added. “It’s a real pleasure to meet you, Captain.”

  Harbour sensed that the woman wasn’t pretending to be polite. Her gratefulness was deep and genuine, and Harbour wondered what she’d so desperately needed from Aurelia. The thought came to mind that her condition might have been similar to Dingles.

  “And this is Claudia Manning, my pilot,” Jessie said.

  “Ma’am,” Claudia said simply, shaking the captain’s hand.

  Harbour ignored the smile on Claudia’s face. Every crew member was wearing one. The woman’s manner of speaking and handshake said she was an uncomplicated, no-nonsense, spacer. What you saw is what you got.

  Jessie glanced at the family still entwined in one another, with the two sisters engaging in a rapid-fire conversation, and Helena smiling in relief. “I think you might have guessed the other member of my crew,” Jessie said, tipping his head toward the family.

  The attention of the captains caused Aurelia to disentangle from her family. She approached Harbour and ignored her spacer training, instead, holding out her hands, which Harbour took. The two empaths communed, while the remaining individuals waited. In one way or another, every member of the group had been greatly impacted by the empaths.

  “Thank you, Captain, for your help in freeing my mother and my sister,” Aurelia said, when she released Harbour’s hands.

  “It was entirely my pleasure, and your sister has repaid any debt,” Harbour replied.

  When Aurelia turned her head to regard Sasha, her younger sister puffed up with pride. “Funny, she rarely repaid me,” Aurelia quipped.

  Rather than react with annoyance, Sasha smiled at her sister. It was a sign of the changes that Sasha was undergoing, being surrounded by people who cared about her well-being.

  Aurelia was led off by Helena and Sasha to visit their cabin. The Belle’s crew tended to the cleaning of their guests’ vac suits, as a courtesy, and Belinda and Claudia followed them. Dingles stayed beside Harbour.

  “Well, Captain Cinders, if you haven’t been aboard before, I’d offer you a tour of the ship, but I don’t think you have the two or three days to spare right now.”

  Jessie laughed and said, “She’s a huge ship.”

  Dingles, who’d been in Harbour’s company for many weeks, detected the subtle emanations from her. He realized Yasmin was right when she said Harbour was different when she spoke of Jessie. Here was proof, and he looked from one to other. Outwardly, they were cool, calm, and collected.

  “Perhaps, a look at the Belle’s bridge, before we sit down and talk about what comes next,” Harbour offered.

  “I’d appreciate that,” Jessie replied.

  “Dingles, lead the way, please,” Harbour said. She walked side by side with Jessie and wanted to link her arm in his, but it didn’t seem appropriate, which mildly annoyed her.

  “For the love of Pyre, only the holds of my shi
p are bigger than this space,” Jessie said, marveling at the bridge after he stepped through the access hatch.

  “Does take your breath away, doesn’t it, Captain?” Dingles asked. His chest was bursting with pride.

  “I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear you made first mate, Dingles, and that you’re doing well,” Jessie said, clapping the spacer on the shoulder.

  “Thanks to my captain,” Dingles replied.

  “Yes, it seems that all of us are falling into Captain Harbour’s debt.”

  Harbour detected conflicting emotions behind Jessie’s statement, but, before she could respond, Birdie called out, “Captain, you have a call from their majesties, the commandant and the governor.”

  “Give me one minute, Birdie, and then patch it through to my comm unit,” Harbour said, holding up her device. “Captain, if you’ll accompany me?” she said to Jessie.

  Harbour stepped through the bridge hatch and walked a few meters down the corridor to a door labeled “Captain’s Quarters.” Once inside, she held a finger to her lips for Jessie and then answered the call on speaker.

  “And to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?” Harbour asked.

  “It’s our duty, as leaders of the Pyrean society, to inform you that your arrival at Triton has reset the time period for the quarantine,” Emerson said perfunctorily.

  “As if I didn’t know that,” Harbour replied, with some heat. “Well, since we seem to be getting down to business without any preliminary niceties, let me ask you, Emerson. Has Lise returned the original Honora Belle files she discovered?”

  “That’s Governor Panoy to you, Harbour,” Lise said, with her own brand of righteous indignation.

  “And here I thought we were all being so chummy, Governor. Ah, well, then it’s Captain Harbour to you.”

  “I’ve received them, Captain,” Emerson said, trying to cool the conversation.

  “But, have you received all the files that were taken from the colony ship?” Harbour asked.