by K A Bledsoe
“There is no way, Quinn,” her mother was saying, but Allison interrupted her.
“Mom, he's right, you’re exhausted and Quinn, you are an idiot to even think about going out there. Here.” She shoved the injector and bottle at her mother. “This is an energy boost. It will get you through what needs to be done.”
At first, her mother looked angry at being interrupted, but Allison could see her weary mind working out what she had said. Soon a small smile was replacing the anger.
“Good idea. I am a little tired.” She filled the injector with liquid from the bottle, pressed it to her neck, then handed it all back to Allison. “There. It should kick in about the time I get through that hatch. Satisfied, Quinn?” She didn’t wait for an answer but put her helmet on and headed for the airlock.
Quinn’s face was still angry, but he turned and went up the ladder to the bridge. Allison followed her mother to close the hatch behind her.
“Be careful, Mom,” she said. Her mother patted her on the shoulder and stepped through. The hatch closed and Allison went to put away the medicine supplies. She simply couldn’t watch her mother go back into danger yet again today.
***
When Lenore returned from patching the leak, Diarmin was already sitting up.
“Hey,” she said, holding out a gloved hand. “It hasn’t been that long. You need to rest.” Lenore looked around. “Where’s Allison?”
Diarmin started pulling off all the various devices despite Lenore’s protests. “Bondle wanted to check on his cargo so I sent her down to the bay with him. Stop that,” he said, batting away Lenore’s hands that were trying to push him back down to the bed. “I’m fine.”
“No, that’s the meds working.”
“I need to—”
They were both interrupted by boots on the ladder, Quinn coming down from the bridge. Lenore noticed the angry look was gone but there wasn’t any warmth in his face either.
“Quinn, tell your father he needs more rest,” she said, trying for a pleasant tone.
“Why should I?” he said, not quite surly but close. “Neither of you listen to my opinions anyway.”
Lenore felt her mouth drop open and wanted to reprimand her son, but the words wouldn’t come. The look of surprise on Diarmin’s face showed he felt the same.
“Did I miss something while I was out?” he said, half-jokingly.
“I came to report that the oxygen controls are back online and power output is nominal. I am now going to check on our other passenger.”
Before either parent could respond, he abruptly turned and disappeared through the door to the lounge.
“What was that all about?” asked Diarmin.
“I’ll tell you later. I need to get out of this suit.” She reached down and picked up the pile of cables, both whole and pieces, that she had dropped when trying to keep Diarmin on the medbed. A wave of weakness washed over her, and she struggled to straighten back up. The energy drug was wearing off.
“Now who’s the one needing rest?” asked Diarmin as he helped her up. The wince as he strained his injury showed he wasn’t back to normal either.
“We both do,” she said. “I will stow my suit and the cables, then get some sleep.”
“And I need to get this ship moving again. I don’t like being a sitting duck.”
Lenore looked at the chronometer on her suit. “It hasn’t even been three hours yet.”
“That doesn’t matter.” He looked directly at her. “You saw the leak. You know.”
She hesitated. She’d seen it and had been trying not to think about it, but she didn’t back down from the intense gaze. “Yes. Where the leak was. And the mine. It was no accident.”
Diarmin nodded.
“Sabotage.”
***
“Have you recovered from zero gravity, Kurla?” Quinn asked after he politely rapped on the open door.
Kurla jumped to her feet at his entrance. “Of course. I have been in weightless situations before.” She moved closer and lowered her voice. “But I did overhear Mr. Bondle saying he needed to take a couple of those anti-nausea pills.”
As she leaned in for that whisper, Quinn caught a waft of flowery scent. Perfume? Shampoo? He wasn’t sure but the wonderful smell made him quite aware of his own sweaty state after all the activity. He took a step back, not wanting to offend Kurla in any way.
She looked at him but didn’t appear insulted. “You, however, look worn out. Is everything okay with the ship?” A small crease appeared between her eyes and the concerned look made him want to undo that step back.
“Everything is fine. Just a maintenance issue.” He cleared his throat, trying not to laugh at his own understatement. But he didn’t want her to worry about all those things he was stressing about.
“That’s good,” she said. She put a hand on his arm. “You still look like you need a break. Let’s go play a game in the lounge. Or watch a vid.”
“Uh, thanks but I am still on duty,” he said, regretting the words.
“You have been on duty ever since I got on board. Doesn’t your Captain allow for some time off?” Kurla shook her head. “The only downtime I have seen you get is when you are sleeping. And sometimes you don’t even get that, doing the night shift.” She put her hands on her hips. “Everyone needs some free time to shake off the stress of the day.”
“Oh, well, yeah I get free time. Just usually not while we are on... uh... have passengers aboard.” Quinn wasn’t sure why he was having trouble talking to Kurla. He had played many roles in his various disguises, making up stories on the spur of the moment.
“Come on,” she said with a sparkle in her eyes. “I will grab a snack from the galley, and then you and I will sit on the bed and watch a fun vid.” She took his arm and propelled him toward the bed. He was flustered enough to let her. As the back of the bunk hit his legs and he sat down heavily, he realized he had to leave before he found himself spending the rest of the day in her cabin.
Kurla turned to presumably get food when an announcement came over the ship speakers.
“Navigator Mikin, please report to the bridge.”
Quinn leapt to his feet, guilt sweeping through him at sitting on this girl’s bed, even though he knew nobody could see him.
“Excuse me, Kurla,” he said as she was still standing in the doorway, blocking his exit. She looked angry.
“Every ship I have been on, the crew gets a few hours a day to themselves. You need to ask for better treatment.” Her arms were crossed again, and she looked like she wasn’t going to budge.
“As you have said before, you are used to large ships. Things work differently on small yachts such as this one. Please move so I don’t have to forcibly move you.” He grinned to show he was teasing.
Kurla smiled back and held her hands up. “Yes, sir. I will obey.” She moved out of the way, smiling the whole time and he was very glad the tenseness between them was gone.
And relieved that he hadn’t needed to actually move her. He wasn’t sure he could have done that simple thing.
He strode out the door and stopped right before he entered the lounge to look back. He figured she would be looking but was still pleased that she did.
“If you ever get a break, we will watch that vid,” she said. The fingers of her left hand wiggled in a wave, and she disappeared back into her cabin.
Quinn stood there like a fool, staring until he heard a throat clearing. He turned to see Bondle trying to get through and back to his cabin.
“Oh, um, my apologies, Mr. Bondle.” He felt his face flame red from embarrassment and braced himself for a comment or at least a knowing look.
The scientist merely nodded and disappeared into his cabin.
“Navigator Mikin, report to the bridge please.”
All the good feelings drained away as anger replaced them. He stomped back through the lounge fighting the urge to shout that he was coming. Why was he the one to take care of things when his parents
needed a break? When would he get his?
Chapter Twenty-three
The family was back on the bridge, having staggered the sleeping periods so everyone had gotten some rest. Diarmin felt an odd sense of déjà vu with the exception of the pain above his navel that told him things were different than the last time they were all here.
The silence along with awkward shuffling and tapping of keys showed that he wasn’t the only one to feel a little strange. His eyes roved over his family in their usual seats.
Lenore had large black circles under her eyes. Yes, I was wounded but she did all the work, first bringing me in and then repairing the leak. He tried not to feel guilty about being stupid enough to set off the mine despite the fact that it had been well hidden. Right before the kids had come up to the bridge, he and Lenore had decided that the only place that the sabotage could have taken place was while they were docked at Sultra. When it had been done was the mystery. Daviss hadn’t found them by the time Kurla was aboard and they had taken off shortly after. The fuel attendants? But why would they? Bondle might have had an opportunity while they were docked but Diarmin was positive he hadn’t come out of his cabin during that time. And since they had left, their passengers hadn’t any chance to roam outside. So where, when, who and why the sabotage was still unknown.
Quinn was being perfectly pleasant in a stilted way, as if he was constantly striving to keep a temper under control. Lenore had explained their argument to him, but that didn’t seem like something that would keep Quinn angry for such a long time.
Allison was the best rested of them all. Not only did she need less sleep, but she had been on the least stressful end of the entire disaster with the leak. She had been worried and scared, but she was still young enough to slough off the past easily. Was that all it was with Quinn? Getting older and dealing with new feelings and emotions?
Diarmin caught Allison glancing at everyone else just like he was. When their eyes met, he grinned. She is just like me. And Quinn is just like Lenore who has always been emotionally volatile even with that blasted medplant dampening her emotions. He sighed, almost wishing for another emergency so the family would be working harmoniously together again. He cleared his throat and tried for something to break the silence.
“All systems working efficiently,” he said to no one in particular. “Looks like the patch is holding up fine.”
“So, Mom,” said Allison. “You were going to tell us a story before we were so rudely interrupted.”
Lenore gave a half smile. “I don’t know if I feel like a story now.”
“Aw, please?” said Allison. “I really want to hear it. Maybe Dad can tell it.”
Diarmin felt his gut drop and stopped his hand short of holding his wound. He was still having trouble reliving his past and in his weakened state, he knew he wasn’t up to actually talking about it now.
“I can tell it,” said Lenore. Diarmin shot her a grateful look and she nodded slightly to show she was aware of his issues. “How about you, Quinn? Shall I talk about the third time we met?” Her voice had a slight edge to it. She also senses his moodiness is not improving.
Quinn nodded then turned his chair enough to listen. He wasn’t quite facing them, but it was better than nothing.
“It might not be with its usual dramatic flair but here goes,” said Lenore.
“I was on a mission for the Xa’ti’al, preparing to set out, when I saw your father walking towards me and the vehicle I was packing. I wasn’t happy to see him since I had figured out that sometimes the Xa sent outsiders to watch agents for their first few missions.”
“You were a Xa, Dad?” asked Allison.
“No, not at all. I was only an observer. The Xa did hire out sometimes for specialized skills and they worked with a few trusted individuals. The observers were usually not Xa because then the rookie agents would get suspicious. I was one of five outsiders they occasionally hired to observe.”
“But he wasn’t there to observe that time,” said Lenore. “Instead, he told me the person who had contracted the mission had sent him along as a guide since he had grown up on that planet.”
“What planet was that?” asked Quinn.
“Nogus Twain,” she answered. “Enough questions or we will never get through this story. Anyway. Kel, as I knew him then, showed me that he did indeed know his way around, so I reluctantly accepted him as a guide. We drove through the swamps to the criminal base I had been instructed to infiltrate and obtain valuable documents from. Working together, we set a decoy and broke in through the front door.”
Allison was biting her lip, clearly holding back from asking for details. Lenore didn’t seem to notice, focusing instead on telling the story in the shortest way possible.
“I started down the right-hand corridor but Kel indicated I should go left for my objective. Since he had been very well informed up to this point, I listened to him. Well, I shouldn’t have.” Lenore gave him a comical frown and he stuck his tongue out at her. Allison giggled and there was even a shadow of a smile on Quinn’s face.
“I found myself in a bare room instead of the main file storage facility. Cursing to myself, I retraced my steps and went to the room where I was supposed to go in the first place. I walked in on Kel staring down another man who had dark skin and hair very similar to his. Wondering why he was wasting time, I stunned the other man and headed toward the computers. At first Kel was shocked but when I reassured him that I only stunned the other, he recovered quickly. As I prepared to download what I could from the computers, he stopped me, saying that my mission only mentioned printed files and that he would deal with the computers. Though I wondered how he knew what exactly my mission was, I searched through the printed files until I found the name I was hired to find. I pulled that file along with as many others as I could fit in the bag, standard Xa’ti’al procedure, take all you can. When I glanced at Kel, I noticed he wasn’t downloading data but destroying it.
“I began to complain but shots came through the doorway. We had to concentrate instead on getting out of there. Taking out three guards, Kel led me to the roof where there were vehicles to escape in. We flew to the nearest city and ditched the vehicle. I went with Kel back to a hotel room where I confronted him about his deception.”
“Where you kicked my ass again,” he said with a chuckle. Lenore tossed a look at him as if annoyed he interrupted. “Oh, sorry,” he said, but he still had a smile.
“I told him I’d had enough. How did he know so much, why did he misdirect me and who was that man that made him freeze? At first, he wouldn’t talk but gave in quickly when it became clear I wouldn’t take silence for an answer. He said he was the one to contract the mission and had asked for me personally because I was the only Xa he could trust. ‘Trust with what?’ I asked. He told me to check the file I was supposed to steal. I did and there was his picture with the name Diarmin Kelton. He asked me to destroy it, putting all his faith in me that I would help him. When I hesitated, he showed his trust by explaining that the man had been his old boss and he no longer wished to work for him. It was the only way he could disappear.”
Lenore paused for a breath and looked at Diarmin. There was so much more she was leaving out and he knew it would need to be told later, but for now the kids were simply taking in what she said. She skipped over the last details and wrapped up the story.
“I felt for him and was impressed by his willingness to tell me everything. I had never had anyone trust me like that so I followed his request. And since he had wiped the computer records, he was no longer on a printed file and would be very difficult for his former boss to locate.”
When Lenore stopped talking, there was silence for at least ten seconds. Diarmin was still trying to shake off the vivid memories the story had brought back.
“That’s all? You’re stopping there?” asked Allison. “Did you become friends after that? And you said you infiltrated a criminal base. Does that mean you worked for a criminal, Dad? And did you
really grow up on that planet or was that part of your cover story? And what about—”
“Is that another person we have been running from all of our lives?”
Everyone froze at Quinn’s interruption. It wasn’t just the question but how he asked it. Diarmin could see the anger in his eyes and wondered where exactly it was coming from.
“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Lenore. She stood and put her hands on her hips, eyes flashing just like Quinn’s.
Uh-oh.
“Exactly what I meant,” said Quinn, crossing his arms and standing as well. “You always had us believing it was only the Xa’ti’al or someone like those pirates that Alli hacked. Now we find out that Dad has also made his fair share of enemies.”
Diarmin idly checked the scanners and found both of the passengers in their cabins. Good. He had a feeling this was going to get loud.
“Quinn, it’s always been like this, why are you angry?” asked Allison. Diarmin could tell she was confused and uneasy.
“That’s right, Alli. It’s always been like this, traveling on a ship, running constantly, unable to stop and live even for a short time on any planet. Mom grew up on a planet and now we know Dad did too. We have never stayed in one place long enough to make any friends, meet nice people, have a normal life.”
“Normal,” said Lenore, her voice actually getting lower which wasn’t a good sign. “We have given you a life far more normal than ours ever was.”
“If it is so normal, how many other people do you know who grew up on a small ship like this?”
Lenore couldn’t answer and neither could Diarmin though he wished he could. He tried to defuse the tension.
“Quinn, we don’t know that many people. I am sure there are plenty of other families like ours.”
“Ha, there aren’t.” Quinn flicked a hand at Lenore. “Didn’t you say you were the only Xa who ever left? How can there be someone like us if that’s true? We change our identities all the time. You couldn’t have found a nice out-of-the-way planet to live on?”