Antagonist - Childe Cycle 11 (34 page)

"No
need
to
whisper,
Captain,"
Toni
said,
using
a
normal
tone
of
voice.
"The
First
Elder
is
thinking,
but
we'd
have
to
work
pretty hard
to
disturb
him."

The
captain's
nod
seemed
contrary
to
the
skeptical
look
on
her face.

"I
appreciate
your
coming,"
Toni
continued.
"But
I
only
meant for
you
to
send
someone—who's
watching
the
bridge?"

"Oh,
I
woke
the
First
Officer,"
the
Captain
said.

"Oh,
no—I
didn't
mean
for
anything
like
that!"
Toni
said,
her eyes
widening.
As
she
began
to
apologize,
the
captain
interrupted her.

"Don't
fret
yourself
over
it,"
she
said,
her
dark
face
lighting
up with
a
broad
smile.
"That's
what
first
officers
are
for!
And
John knows
better
than
anyone
we're
down
to
a
skeleton
complement. Now
tell
me
what
you
need."

Deciding
that
the
best
way
to
end
everyone's
inconvenience would
be
to
put
her
project
into
action,
Toni
quickly
explained
her idea;
within
moments
the
tables
and
chairs
not
already
being
used by
Bleys
and
Toni
were
being
pushed
aside,
the
entertainment
consoles
disconnected
and
unbolted
from
the
floor—even
the
long
bar was
detached
and
pushed
as
far
against
the
opposite
wall
of
the lounge
as
it
would
go.

In
less
than
fifteen
minutes
they
had
cleared
an
elongated
open space
down
the
longest
axis
of
the
lounge,
its
sides
made
up
of
two rows
of
easy
chairs
that
faced
the
cleared
space,
as
if
awaiting
an
audience.

"Is
this
about
what
you
had
in
mind,
Antonia
Lu?"
the
captain asked,
handing
a
power
wrench
back
to
one
of
her
crew.
She
had moved
at
least
as
much
furniture
as
any
of
them.

"Yes
it
is,
Captain,"
Toni
said.
"Thank
you
so
much."

"Yes,
thank
you,
Captain,"
Bleys
said,
his
voice
startling
Toni
as he
moved
quietly
up
behind
them.

"I'm
so
sorry,
First
Elder—"
the
captain
began;
but
Bleys
stopped her
with
a
raised
hand
and
a
smile.

"Please,
Captain,
don't
be,"
he
said.
"I
should
be
apologizing
to you—I
know
our
situation
has
created
a
lot
of
problems
for
you—" This
time
it
was
the
captain's
turn
to
interrupt.

"That's
nonsense,
sir,"
she
said.
"I
think
you
know
the
crew
of
Favored of God
is
proud
to
do
whatever
it
can
to
help
you
in
your work."
Her
eyes
were
gleaming
in
her
broad
face,
and
her
cheeks were
bunched
up
in
a
great
smile
that
showed
large,
gleaming
white teeth.

Bleys
was
silent
for
a
moment;
then
he
spoke,
more
softly. "And
you
do
it
very
well,
too."

The
captain
gave
a
nod,
a
kind
of
sideways
dip
of
her
head. There
was
silence
for
a
moment,
before
she
turned
back
to
Toni.

"And
is
there
anything
else
we
can
do?"

"No,
Captain—thank
you
so
much!"
Toni
said.

The
captain
waved
one
hand
vaguely
toward
her
head,
as
if
faking
a
salute;
and
then
put
on
her
professionalism
again,
gathering her
people
and
striding
out
the
door.

"I'm
sorry
we
disturbed
you,"
Toni
said
to
Bleys.
"I
hoped
you were
so
deep
in
thought
you
wouldn't
notice,
and
I
was
guessing you'd
work
better
if
you
had
a
walkway
like
the
one
you
use
back home."

"It's
a
good
idea,"
Bley
s
said.
"I'm
certain
I'll
be
using
it—I'd thought
about
walking
in
the
corridor,
but
..
."

"You
seemed
to
be
thinking
hard,"
Toni
said.
"Is
there
anything I
can
help
with?"

"Well,
I
can't
answer
that
yet,"
he
replied.
"It's
just
that
a
bell seemed
to
ring
inside
me,
while
we
were
speaking
about
the
cheese; and
so
far
I'm
having
trouble
pinning
down
whatever
my
mind's
trying
to
tell
me."

"The
cheese?"

"I'll
explain
when
I
know,"
he
said;
and
he
shrugged
and
returned
to
the
chair
he
had
been
sitting
in. "You
never
ate,"
she
said,
following
him.

"I
forgot,"
he
said.
He
sat
down
and
started
in
on
his
breakfast. In
a
moment,
he
looked
back
up
at
her. "Thank
you,"
he
said.

Within
fifteen
minutes
he
was
pacing
rapidly
up
and
down
the length
of
the
cleared
space,
one
hand
lightly
slapping
the
surface
of the
bar
each
time
he
reached
the
far
end
of
the
room
and
made
his turn.