Embarkment 2577 (11 page)

Adam roamed around the room, giving out
encouraging comments and squeezing people’s shoulders. All the younger officers
must’ve been part of the usual night shift; they seemed used to working
together. This man who wasn’t really a man took care of me, kept me company,
and brought me breakfast every morning. He was also their boss, a leader who
made decisions about the welfare of the entire ship, or why not whole planetary
systems, every day.

One of the meters moved a little, but
stayed in the green area. What was I monitoring anyway? Warp containment field?
That sounded important, I should probably pay more attention to it.

A few minutes later, I heard Adam and
Jia’Lyn talk behind me. I didn’t
try
to listen, but it was hard not to
hear them. She asked, “How are you doing, Commander?”

I could almost see him shrug. “I’m fine.”

“Are you really? It’s stressful to have
to worry for people you care about.” After just a short pause, she added, “It
must be hard to be so close and not be able to show it.”

For someone rarely showing emotions, he
sounded exasperated when he answered, “I’m fine. It’s not important, especially
not right now.”

“Of course it’s important.”

Silence hung thick between them and I
watched my meters. Jia’Lyn said, “Maybe you should just tell her. What are you
so afraid of?”

Adam sounded dismissive. “This isn’t the
time. Drop it.”

“It’s not like a blind man can’t see you
love her.”

Footsteps approached me and I kept my
eyes on the meters. Curiosity fought jealousy; if Adam loved someone, I needed
it to be me.

Jia’Lyn rested her hand on my shoulder.
“I’m going down to Engineering. Thank you for keeping an eye on my babies.”

Crap. Now what would I do? “Do you need
anything else?”

She flashed a smile. “Sure. Keep
thinking outside the box. We need you today.”

My time for coming up with plans was
over. Without an immediate threat facing me, the question of who Adam might
love would take over my mind.

*****

My android friend crouched down next to
me. He smiled and handed me a cup of coffee.

Blake walked by. “Normally that’d be a
breach of protocol, but I won’t complain about it today. Just don’t spill on
the consoles.”

Clutching my mug, I vowed to stay far
away from anything I could destroy. It was a bit difficult to see the Captain
as intimidating when dressed in a striped pyjama.

I took a big gulp of the hot brew to
keep any dumb questions from popping out of my mouth. Blake headed for the
middle of the room. “Good job, everyone. Now, I don’t have to tell you how
serious the situation is. We’re in control of our ship. We’re fast and
well-armed, but it will take more than that to get our people back unharmed.”

As much as I tried to pay attention, I
zoned out. Ima’s tail whacked me on the back of my head and brought me back to
reality. “Oww.”

The Captain frowned and looked our way.
“Ladies, do you have something to add?”

I intended to shake my head, I really
did. My mouth had other plans. “It’s not gonna work. You need a ploy. Fool them
into thinking you’re friendly, so you can get close enough to take out main
systems without having to destroy the ships.”

One of the ensigns muttered, “She’s been
lucky, but let the trained people take over now.”

Adam crossed his arms and stared at the
young woman until she looked at the floor. Once the little insubordinance was
dealt with, he smiled and encouraged me. “Go on, Alex. What do you have in
mind?”

I didn’t have anything in mind, not even
a trace of a plan. Admitting my lack of imagination was out of the question.
“Eh… I don’t know. Maybe you can pretend to run away with the ship, and then
turn back, and…”

What would people on TV have done? “Send
a transmission with the Logg suite on, or make the computer fake a video feed.
Tell them there was a rebellion and it has been overpowered. You’re returning
to transfer the rest of the prisoners.”

I shrugged and added in a mousy voice,
“Or something.”

Worst plan ever. Why couldn’t a
convenient hole open in the floor and swallow me whole?

Ima’s tail wagged slowly from side to
side. “You are perfectly devious. I like it.”

Blake nodded, and managed to look
authoritative even in his ridiculous outfit. “Fine. That’s what we’ll do. Alex,
you need your suit, you’ve been talented in dealing with the Logg this far. I
want you to talk to them.”

No way. I was
not
going out
there. Gambling the lives of all the captives on my debatable acting skills
was… crazy.

No time to object. Blake was already
moving for his chair. “Alright people, let’s get to work. We need to figure out
the best route for the ship so we can attack where they’re the most vulnerable.
I want to hit life-support and get a quick surrender.”

People manned stations all around the
room, and I was surprised to see Ima take the helm. I didn’t expect her to be
able to fly, but everyone seemed trained to fill in where needed. Except me…

This time, I felt the ship take off. Ima
made our escape look good.

Adam squeezed my shoulder. “I’ll go get
the suit. I’ll be right back.”

Didn’t they expect me to go? I didn’t
want
to, but I assumed it was my task.

He said in a mild voice, “You don’t need
to go out there again. Think of what you’re going to tell them instead.
Besides, it’ll be much faster if I go get it, and I don’t need to breathe.”

I wanted to cry, hug him, and say thank
you. “Be careful.”

He nodded and winked at me.

The ensign who criticized me earlier
took a long route around me when going towards a science station. Her big blond
curls and green eyes were much too pretty. Hopefully, her aversion to me wasn’t
personal.

Adam returned within minutes, carrying
all the fur under one arm. Putting the suit back on appalled me. Why couldn’t I
keep my mouth shut, just for once? They would have thought of something else.

He helped me pull it on, and a moment
later, I had turned into a Logg once more. “Are you ready?”

I shrugged and took a seat in the
Captain’s chair. Ima flung the ship into a steep U-turn, and I held on to the
armrests.

When the ship straightened up again,
everyone cleared the floor. Adam nodded to me; the connection was open.

A face projected in front of me. It hung
in mid-air, larger than life. The Logg was old and ugly, and stared at me with
barely restrained loathing. If my image was
this
big on the other side,
he would have to be blind not to see I was a human in disguise.

“What are you useless fools doing over
there? Stop playing with the ship and get your furry claws back here!”

The thundering voice made me shrink in
the chair. How might a Logg act in front of a superior? I acted on instinct and
slumped in the chair, trying to look properly chastised. Furry claws had to be
an insult. “But sir…”

“Be quiet, worm, and grovel before me!”

Did he mean that literally? Probably. I
slid down from the chair and grovelled the best I could. How humiliating. Everyone
else must be laughing their butts off.

When I peeked up again, the Logg made a
dismissive gesture. “Alright, alright. Take a seat and tell me what you
pathetic idiots are doing.”

This time, I remembered I had a tail. “I
was wounded in a fight with a human. They smell so bad.”

I mentioned the rebellion, and
exaggerated the Logg bravery in dealing with it. Overstating seemed to be in
their line of thinking. The old Logg laughed. He was pleased with me.

“I see a grand future for you, young
one. Contact me when you’re back in transporter range, and we’ll finish the
transfers. I will make sure to deal with the one who wounded you personally.”

The hologram disappeared and I slumped
in the chair. Too much action for one day.

People scurried back to their stations,
and someone reported, “We’ll be in weapon’s range in two point zero four
minutes. They are dropping their shields.”

Blake looked at me. “Well done, Alex.
Now, get out of my chair.”

I laughed, in spite of all. At least I
could take the suit off now… I piled fake fur on one of the guest seats and
sat on it.

“Weapons locked, Captain.” Adam sounded
emotionless as always.

Blake said, “Fire,” and the ship rocked
as she destroyed the Logg’s defence systems and life support.

We won, through brute force and a
strategy based on too much TV. There were still complications, of course. The
Bell was filled with unconscious crewmembers and intruders, the Logg ship needed
to be evacuated, and dealing with thousands of furry prisoners would be a
challenge both regarding time and logistics. Luckily, none of these things were
my responsibility. I sat as quietly as I could and hoped everyone would forget
about me. The army, or navy, or boy scouts, or whatever they were could deal
with this on their own.

I wished I could sneak out unseen and go
home, but moving would draw attention to me. It was too late anyway; Adam
crouched by my chair. “I want you to go with Ima to sickbay. Help her the best
you can, okay?”

Given a choice, the infirmary wouldn’t
be on top of my list of volunteer work. I wasn’t particularly queasy, but I
lacked medical skills. Besides, Adam represented safety. Staying with him would’ve
been… better.

“Please, Alex. Just assist her the best
you can.”

It was impossible to say no. “Okay.”

Ima needed help, we weren’t in immediate
danger, and he had things to do. Things where he couldn’t have me cling to him.

Adam rewarded me with a smile, and I
pulled on my scuba visor and ventured into the Bell’s endless corridors.

It wasn’t all that bad at first. People
came in with minor wounds and bruises, and Ima showed me what to do. Then, two
men came carrying a third. He was unconscious and sported a gushing head wound.
Right behind them staggered a young woman with a complexion white as paper and
a cut in her arm that almost reached the bone. There was blood everywhere.

“Alex, lay her down on the bed over
there. Feet high. Hold her arm up and apply pressure. Cut the sleeve off if you
can. I’ll be there in a minute.”

As captives came back to our ship, some
of the regular sickbay staff showed up, and necessity turned me into a decent
assistant. I learned to use the medical scanner, and to interpret some basic
values. I learned how to patch superficial wounds and some basic first aid.
Both the day and the number of patients seemed never ending.

Finally, other Confederacy ships
arrived. One of the doctors said more ships headed for the mines where we were
intended to serve as hard labour. We had accidentally solved a great mystery of
disappearing ships and people.

When sickbay was fully staffed with experienced
doctors and nurses, Ima nodded to me. “C’mon, let’s go wash up. Blake’s getting
us dinner.”

I so wanted to go home and curl up in
bed for a good long nap, but turning down a dinner invitation from the Captain
was out of the question. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to become a
little more orderly, and followed her.

We met up with Adam and Jia’Lyn in the
lift. Even her usually perky snakes slumped, and a few had their eyes closed.
Were they sleeping? Did they all have minds of their own, or were they controlled
by her? I wanted to ask, but now wasn’t the best of times.

Adam stood next to me in his usual pose;
back straight, arms crossed, and not showing even a trace of stress or fatigue.
“How are you doing, Alex?”

“Okay. I’m okay.”

“I found the Logg in your closet.”

I almost forgot about that. “Thank you.”

Ima and Jia’Lyn walked side by side down
the corridor. They were almost exactly the same height, but one wagged her tail
from side to side and the other her hair. We were so different and still so
much alike. I was privileged to have them in my life.

The door opened with a scent of food,
and my stomach grumbled. I couldn’t even remember the last time I saw food. Was
it at that restaurant with Adam? More than a day earlier, no wonder I was
hungry.

Ima swept in through the door and kissed
her husband. Jia’Lyn followed, grinning with approval as she eyed all the food.

Adam paused just outside the door and
glanced into my eyes. It was just because I was so tired, of course, but at
that moment he seemed very tall. A smile tugged at his lips. “You’ve become
famous. The rumour of the fantastic girl who singlehandedly defeated the
Logg-fleet has spread all over.”

That wasn’t what I expected him to say.
“Ridiculous.”

He winked and nodded towards the door. Anya
waited on the other side, and I threw my arms around her. “I’ve been so worried
for you.”