Chasing the Stars (26 page)

The following morning, I woke before Nathan. He was facing me, fast asleep and he looked so peaceful. I smiled to myself, still not quite used to waking up beside him. I raised my head to check the time on the panel above our heads and saw I had a message from Doctor Liana. Carefully, I tried to climb over Nathan ninja-style so I wouldn’t wake him up but my ninja skills had deserted me. I was only halfway over him when his hands shot out to pull me down on top of him.

‘Sorry, Nate,’ I laughed. ‘The plan was to get out of the bed without disturbing you.’

Nathan turned his head to check the time. ‘Why’re you getting up so early?’ he asked sleepily. ‘We have another hour before our shift starts.’

‘Doctor Liana has sent me a message.’

‘How about you read it later.’ Nathan closed his eyes, weaving his fingers into my hair to pull me closer for a kiss.

I used the opportunity to roll off him completely and sprang to my feet. ‘How about I read it now in case it’s important?’

‘Dafuq! Can’t the doctor and everyone else on this damned ship give you a moment’s peace every once in a while?’ Nathan grumbled.

And he didn’t stop there! Whilst he cursed up a blue streak, I read the doc’s message. She wanted to meet with me in the mess hall before my shift started. Once I read it, I turned to Nathan who was still cursing.

‘D’you kiss your wife with that sewer mouth?’ I teased.

‘Every chance I get. In fact I was trying to when she hopped out of bed to read the doctor’s damned message,’ said Nathan.

‘You’re too old to sulk, Nate,’ I told him.

‘Come back to bed then.’

‘No can do. I’m going to meet the doctor,’ I replied.

‘I want you,’ said Nathan, indicating a certain part of his anatomy.

‘I see that, but both of you will have to wait till later,’ I told him. And I headed for the bathroom.

Once showered and dressed I headed off to meet Doctor Liana. In the mess hall, it took a few moments to find her. She was seated by herself at a table furthest away from the exit. She had a spoon loaded with food in one hand and was reading something off a tablet in her other hand, her focus totally absorbed by what she was reading. Her food fell off her spoon and she didn’t even notice. I walked over to her.

‘Nihao, Doc. You wanted to see me?’ I sat down into the chair opposite.

‘Ah, Captain. Yes, I did want to see you.’

‘Doc, please call me Vee,’ I pleaded.

‘Why does my calling you “Captain” make you so uncomfortable?’ asked Doctor Liana with interest.

My face began to burn. I glanced around but there was no one near us. ‘I guess . . . I guess I still sometimes feel like a little kid wearing her mum’s shoes which are far too big for her,’ I confessed to the doctor – something I’d never admit to anyone else, not even Nathan. I wanted him to see me as sophisticated and capable, a woman oozing poise and self-confidence, not some tongue-tied, awkward noob filled to overflowing with self-doubts who sometimes felt like she was faking it.

‘You want my advice? Stuff your mother’s shoes with whatever you have to until they fit you,’ said the doc. ‘And from what I can see, your mum’s shoes don’t need any kind of padding. Why don’t you give yourself a break, Vee?’

Doctor Sheen and I considered each other. She was right.

‘Thanks, Doc,’ I said quietly.

‘Ah, to be young again,’ smiled the doctor. ‘But then again, maybe not!’

Which made me laugh. ‘Anyway, you wanted to see me?’ I said.

‘I’d like your permission to go through the ship’s medical logs from three years ago and earlier,’ said Doctor Liana.

My smile vanished. Immediately my heart began to hammer. ‘Why?’

‘I’d like to try and learn more about the virus which killed your original crew. I want to analyse everything about it, but I can’t at the moment because I’m locked out of the historical medical logs,’ said the doc.

My frown deepened. ‘My dad and those who worked with him studied the virus. They didn’t find any way to stop it spreading,’ I said carefully.

‘I’m not disparaging your dad’s efforts,’ the doctor rushed to explain. ‘I’d just like to take a look for myself. With your permission, of course.’

For the life of me, I couldn’t think of a single reason to turn down her request, much as I wanted to. ‘OK, but just the medical logs from the previous crew, nothing else,’ I stipulated.

‘That’s all I need,’ said the doctor. ‘Thank you.’

‘I’ll set it up once I’m back on the bridge,’ I said.

This would require careful handling. No way was I prepared to give her full access to each and every medical log from three years ago. Some editing would be required.

As I stood up to depart, the doctor asked, ‘Am I right in thinking you’ve had no communication with Earth since your parents and the rest of the crew died?’

I sat back down again, shaking my head. ‘There’s no two-way communication with Earth this far out. When it was just me and Aidan, I used to send monthly sub-space reports, but I stopped that after about six months.’

‘Why?’

‘The content never changed, so what was the point? “The crew are still dead. My brother and I are still alone. I’m still desperate to make it back home and be with my grandparents. The end.” See? Always the same report so it was a waste of time. I’ll start sending them again when I’m within six months of Earth’s solar system.’

‘You miss your grandparents very much, don’t you?’

‘God, yes. They’re all I have left of my life as it was on Earth. They’re my way of feeling connected to my past. I can’t wait for them to meet Nathan. It’ll be like the past, present and future all coming together for the first time in my life,’ I gushed. Only then could I hear myself. I winced. ‘That probably made very little to no sense.’

‘It made a great deal of sense,’ smiled the doc. ‘Isn’t that what we all crave? Somewhere to be? Someone with whom we can share our life and love? A green part of the universe to call our own?’

Some note in the doctor’s voice made me pause. Here was a woman who didn’t need a dictionary to know what lonely meant.

‘Do you have someone back on Callisto or Earth, Doc?’ I asked.

‘I . . . I have a son back on Earth,’ said the doctor after a long pause.

‘Really? How old?’

‘Twenty-three. He’s training to be a doctor.’

‘Ooh. Like mother, like son,’ I smiled.

‘Something like that,’ the doctor said, her smile fading. ‘I’ll be accompanying you once we leave Mendela Prime. I want to go back home to Earth.’

‘So your son is your reason for wanting to go back?’

‘Something like that. Now tell me, how is married life?’

‘Exhausting!’ The word slipped out before I could properly think about my answer. At the wry rise of Doctor Liana’s eyebrows, I burned hot, a curtain of fire covering my face. I rushed to explain. ‘I mean, I’ve been alone for so long, too long, and all of a sudden I’m sharing my quarters, my shower, my bed, my time, my life. Nate and I try to spend at least an hour a day just talking to each other about anything, the past, the future, our hopes and dreams. We’ve even managed to watch a few of my favourite twenty-first century films together. And I love it, I truly do, but it’s exhausting.’

‘Have you told Nathan that?’

I shook my head. ‘I don’t want him to think I don’t like being with him, ’cause nothing could be further from the truth. It’s just . . . people are tiring.’

‘I hear that,’ said the doctor. ‘Does Nathan talk about Callisto?’

I sighed. ‘Not really anymore. Not often. And he totally hates doing it, so I try not to push too hard on that subject. He told me a fair amount when we first met but now it’s a bit here, a little there. I’m hoping the longer we’re together, the more he’ll open up to me. In the meantime we discuss his time spent on his mum’s last ship and what he remembers of Earth – that kind of stuff.’

Doctor Liana nodded. ‘You’re right not to push,’ she said carefully. ‘Let him tell you in his own time, when he’s ready. I like Nathan, and believe me, he’s been through a lot. I had to patch him up more than once back on Callisto. I don’t know if he told you this but I was the one who operated on him to attach his prosthetic lower leg when he lost his own.’

‘No, I didn’t know that,’ I replied.

‘It’s a testament to just how much you mean to him that he told you anything at all about his time on that god-awful moon,’ said the doctor.

‘Doc, will you tell me more about Nate’s life on Callisto?’ I asked eagerly.

‘No. No way,’ Doctor Liana replied at once. ‘Doctor-patient confidentiality.’

‘I’m not asking for medical secrets, just more of an insight into his life there.’

‘You’ll need to get that from your husband, not me,’ said the doc, repeating her previous mantra. ‘Doctor-patient confidentiality.’

‘Worth a try,’ I sighed. ‘Have you got any advice for me, then?’

The doc gave me a speculative look. ‘I will say this. Sometimes Nathan can get a bit lost inside his own head and it takes a while for him to find a way through his thoughts. My advice? Just be patient with him.’

That I could do. ‘Don’t worry, Doc. I’ll be Nathan’s safety net. I won’t let him fall.’

The doctor smiled. ‘Tell him that, not me.’

I decided to hit the gym before my shift started. I needed to work off my early morning frustrations. As I headed there, it didn’t take long to realize that the news of my union with Vee had spread throughout the ship. Most people I passed offered me their sincere congratulations. One or two greeted me with a smirk or a knowing look. Well, let them stare if they had nothing better to do. I wasn’t the first one of us settlers to get married and I very much doubted I’d be the last.

Going to the gym, however, turned out to be a mistake. I wasn’t the only one who’d decided to work out before the start of the next shift. The moment I entered the gym, the ribald comments started.

‘Way to advance your career on board, Linedecker,’ Harrison called out.

Arsehat! I ignored him.

All eyes were on me as I made my way over to the first piece of apparatus I wanted to use – the programmable pummel bag.

‘Thinks he’s too good to associate with us common drones now that he’s joined with the captain of the ship,’ said Maria.

Laughter followed Maria’s comment, then more remarks were made, a number of them snide. The others were using various pieces of equipment around the gym but that didn’t stop the commentary.

‘I wouldn’t have thought you two had much – if anything – in common,’ said Ian. ‘I mean, she’s an educated elite and you’re just a drone. What d’you two find to talk about when you’re alone? Or have you not reached the talking stage yet?’

I glared at Ian, practically fusing my lips together so I wouldn’t bite his inquisitive head off.

‘What happens when she heads back to Earth?’ Ian continued. ‘You gonna stay behind on Mendela Prime and wait for her?’

‘Are you kidding?’ scoffed Maria. ‘Bet the moment the captain sets foot on Earth and is amongst her elite friends and family, Nathan will be instantly forgotten.’

Stay calm, Nathan. Don’t let them get to you.

‘Nathan, you’d better make the most of her whilst you’ve got her,’ Harrison called out. ‘I’m still trying to figure out how on Callisto you managed to persuade her to join with you in the first place.’

‘He hypnotised her?’ Maria suggested.

‘Dicknotised her more like!’ Harrison laughed. ‘Picked up a few tips and tricks from me over the years, Nathan? You were wise to learn from the sensei.’ Harrison took a bow.

I punched the pummel bag harder.

‘What’s she like in the sack? Bet she’s learnt a few tricks of her own from all those films she watches.’ Corbyn winked.

‘I wouldn’t mind a go or two with her myself,’ said Harrison. ‘Have you seen that gravity-defying rack?’

‘Nat, any chance of you sharing?’ asked Corbyn.

I spun around. ‘The next arsehole who opens their mouth in my direction is gonna end up in the medical bay.’

One glance at my stony expression and they all found something else to do, which was fine with me. Ian walked over to me and said quietly, ‘Sorry, son.’ Then he headed back to his apparatus. His apology did nothing to cool my mood. It was just as well I was in the gym and could take out my temper on the pummel bag. I beat the stuffing out of it – literally. My last kick brought it down from the ceiling. Sweat dripping off me, I turned to find four pairs of eyes watching me. They all turned and carried on with their various training programmes the moment I looked their way. Placing the destroyed pummel bag in one corner of the gym, I made my way out of there and back to my quarters.

It was my own fault. I was the one who’d let the cat out of the bag about me and Vee. I should’ve kept my mouth shut, but any more comments like those I’d just heard and someone would be in a world of pain.