Wrath of the Void Strider (9 page)

Gavin studied the document.  “Thanks.”

Taryn and Takeo collected their respective forms.

“At the top, you’ll find the details of your rank and pay grade, as well as the pay schedule and company holidays.  You’re covered under Privateers Healthcare.”  She scrolled along the surface of Gavin’s contract until she found the section she was looking for.  “The details are here.  Everyone starts out with 10 vacation days, 2 personal days and 5 sick days, prorated annually.  Captain pays out unused personal time at the end of every galactic calendar year.”  Quickly, she swiped through several subsections.  “If you should ever decide to leave, these are the details on severance and how to transfer your Merchant Star Navy progress.”

Takeo chuckled dryly and set down Zerki’s keys.  “I doubt that will ever be a realistic option.”

Valerie’s cheer faded noticeably.  “Sorry, guys.  I know this is a pretty big adjustment, especially considering the circumstances.”  She squeezed Gavin’s hands.  “Still, thanks for your help, from all 60 of us.”  With a nod, she withdrew her grip and passed Gavin a stylus.

Taking a deep breath, he gripped it and signed the document.  Taryn and Takeo soon did the same.  Gavin gathered all three contracts and passed them back to Valerie.  “Where do we sleep?”

“Taryn and Takeo, you two will be sharing quarters in the barracks.”  Retrieving it from her lap, she studied her data tablet.  “E-052.  Gavin, your quarters are in the command module, but they’re not ready yet.  I’d give it until after the all-hands meeting before paying them a visit.”  As a question formed in his mind, she answered it with, “Your name will be on the jamb.”

He looked surprised.  “Oh!  Thanks.”

“Should we check out the new digs?” asked Taryn.  She bounced slightly.

“Absolutely,” said Takeo, and he hugged her sidelong.  “Never thought we’d be roommates.”

“Me neither,” she said and turned to face the exit, prompting Takeo to do the same.

Gavin offered Valerie a casual salute.  “Thanks for all of this.”

She smiled warmly.  “You’re very welcome.”

He turned away to join his friends.

Chapter 07

Valerie watched Gavin, Taryn and Takeo exit the rec room, and she slowly shook her head, wearing a grateful smile.  A moment later, Zerki stepped through the doorway, and she took a seat next to her first mate.  She leaned forward and collected her keys.

“I don’t know how you do it, Captain,” said Valerie.

“Do what?”

Valerie crossed her arms and leaned back.  “You know what.”

Zerki chuckled quietly and looked ahead.  “Please make sure each of them gets a chance to call their families.  Encrypted, of course.  It’s probably the last time they’ll get to talk to them for a very long time.”  After a moment, she nodded and asked, “You gave them quarters?”

“I did, but now we’re really out of space.  If we take on any more crew, we’ll be over capacity, and food is already very tight.”  She breathed deeply.  “Anyway, I gave Gavin Kendra’s old place, but I had to put Taryn and Takeo in the same cabin.”  She presented her tablet to Zerki and tapped on the
Sanguine Shadow
’s deck plan.

“I’ll have someone transfer one of the double bunks from the shuttle.”

Valerie nodded, but she frowned somewhat.  “Have you figured out how to wake up Gavin’s starsight?”

“I hope so, but it’s a very old technique, and I’m not sure it’ll work.”  She rubbed her eyes.  “I’ll give him a little time to acclimate before trying.”

Valerie cautioned, “We’re running out of time.  How important is our punctuality?”

“Critical.  If we’re late, another crew will get the job.”  Glancing to her first mate, she said, “We’re first in a very long line.”

Valerie nodded and hunched forward on her elbows.  “I wish we had warp engines.”

Zerki puffed her cheeks as she released a drawn breath.  “Depending on how this goes, we should be able to buy a warp core and engines to go with it.”

“That’s one hell of a payday.  No hints?”

“Not yet.”

A quiet moment passed, and Zerki clapped Valerie’s knee before pushing up to stand.  “I’ve already made some suggestions to Collins about assignments for Taryn and Takeo, but I’d like you to confirm with him.  If I can coax Gavin’s starsight out of its shell, I’ll be calling that all-hands meeting to discuss the details of the job.  If not, we’ll have to reach out to an agency and start looking for something else.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Valerie affirmed.

After Zerki had departed, she leaned over her tablet and used it to hail the bridge.

Collins appeared onscreen and smiled at seeing her.  “Greetings, Ms. Sawyer.”

“Hey, Collins.”  She waved with her fingertips.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Valerie sent him copies of the enlistment forms.  “Got another Navigator.”

“So I heard.  Congrats on the good read.”  He paused to review the files he had received.  “Don’t know about this guy,” he muttered.  “Navigators are women.  In fact, this may be the first male Navigator I’ve ever worked with.  He reliable?”

“Captain thinks he will be.”  Valerie raised her brows.  “Can you give his friends something to do?”

Collins took a moment to review his assignment list, and he puffed his cheeks.  “Going to have to start splitting the load down to the absurd.”  He shrugged.  “Well, Captain suggested they get started on D’Arro’s team.  Seems like a good fit to me.”

“She did?”  Valerie warned, “I don’t think she thought it through.  Taryn’s ospyrean.”

Collins nodded.  “Yeah, I see that.  It’ll be good for the old bird.  He’s been mourning Threena for how many years, now?”

“They mate for life, Collins.  He’s never getting over her.”

He shrugged.  “Couldn’t hurt to give the poor guy a chance.”

Valerie shook her head, and she laughed humorlessly.  “You don’t understand ospyreans at all!  I’ll be sure to expedite the request for team transfer when it comes in.”

“Wow, no faith in this old man,” he snorted.  “Have some faith in me, huh?”

“Bye, Collins,” she responded and switched off the comm.

·· • ··

After reaching the end of the barracks’ corridor, Taryn and Takeo invited Gavin to enter the cabin assigned to them.  Located at the aft-most starboard side of the top deck, it bore its designation in black on a medium gray steel door.  Takeo pressed his hand upon the scanner, and a cheerful sound chimed as a green mote blinked.  The door slid aside, and one by one, they crossed into the cabin’s confines.  Recessed lights flickered on overhead, and Taryn tapped the door closed.

“Not bad,” she noted.  “Not bad, at all!”

The walls and carpet were light gray, with brick red and pale blue trim.  Just inside the door, against the right wall, was a video kiosk seated atop a wide storage compartment.  Across the room, a long glass table stood amidst four glassy chairs, placed before a wide porthole that looked out upon the stars.  Left of the entrance, a stout, rounded cabinet occupied a curved nook, and opposite it a comfy-looking bed awaited use, positioned at a slight diagonal to the wall and its end table.  Halfway between the bed and the cabinet, an arched doorway led to a narrower room with a closet and a plush deck chair.  The door to the bathroom was seated within the far wall of the smaller chamber, and a second porthole let in the light of the star-filled expanse.

“I’ll take the floor tonight,” Takeo offered.  “Maybe we can trade off?”

Taryn smiled gratefully.  “Aw, thanks, Takeo.  Yeah, we can trade off.”

Gavin crossed his arms and nodded.  “I should probably let you guys unpack.”

“Har har,” said Taryn, and she stuck out her tongue.  “Oh, look!  We’re done!”  She exaggerated a beaming grin.  “Fastest move, yet.”

They shared a laugh and sat around the room, falling into lighthearted conversation.  Each of them bore much heavier considerations, but no one wanted to ruin the mood.  Their jovial discourse continued until Zerki arrived to call Gavin away.

He followed her along the corridors to the command lift, and they soon stepped onto the bridge.  Collins announced her arrival, and Zerki waved dismissively.  “Hey all, this is Gavin, our Navigator.  I need to run some jump rig attenuations, and he needs all his focus.”  Motioning for the lift, she said, “You’re all relieved for the time being.  I’ll let you know when I need you back here.”

“Captain?” replied Collins, as Krane turned to regard her.

Zerki nodded resolutely.  “You too, both of you.  I’ll see you soon.”

“Aye, Captain,” said Collins, and he joined the others in the elevator compartment.  The doors whispered closed, and they descended to the main deck.

“This way,” said Zerki, and she led Gavin to the jump rig’s darkened recess at the back of the bridge.  Dormant display screens had been affixed to the ceiling directly overhead.  She gestured toward the bed.

Gavin studied it.  “What am I supposed to do?”

“Lie down and close your eyes.”  She tapped a series of commands into her console as Gavin eased onto the rig’s cushions.  She returned to his side and carefully set a headband across his forehead.  “This is the cephalotronic.  When we’re priming for a jump, it induces a heightened alpha state of consciousness while it transmits your observations to the ship’s computer.  Right now, we’re just going to focus on the alpha state.”

He nodded.  “Sure.”  He closed his eyes as diodes cooled his forehead.  “That’s cold.”

“It’ll warm up.”  She tapped a button on her console.  A quiet moment passed, and she said, “Try to focus on your friend, Taryn.  Try to see her and what she’s doing right now.”

“Okay.”

A drawn moment followed, and she asked, “Are you seeing anything?”

Gavin puffed his cheeks.  “Nothing actual.  I keep seeing either a tool bench or the cargo junction, but I know Taryn’s in her quarters.”

“Can you see her in the passage?”

“Almost.”  He opened his eyes and lifted free the headband.  “No, not really.  It feels like I’m daydreaming.”

She nodded patiently.  “That’s okay, we’ll add some images overhead and see if that helps.”  Gently, she returned the headband to his forehead and tapped a button on her console.  Stars, planets and nebulae came into view, along with rich telemetry data.  “Let your mind wander.  Pay Taryn a visit when you feel up to it.”

Some time passed as he stared at the images.  Exasperated, he took off the headband and sat upright.  With his arms draped in his lap, he sighed, “It’s like I can almost see her, but there’s something blocking me.  I can’t get past it.”  He sagged.  “I’m sorry, Captain.”

She crossed her arms and sat back in her chair, chewing on the inside of her lower lip.  “There’s got to be a way.”  Leaning forward slightly, she tapped the comm button and said, “Val, I need you on the bridge.”

A moment later, the lift doors opened, and Valerie joined Gavin and Zerki at the jump rig.  They discussed what they’d experienced up to that point.  When they had finished, Valerie closed her eyes and studied Gavin’s thoughts.  Breathing out, she said, “You’re thinking too much.  You’re convinced you can’t do this.  You can only imagine what it’s supposed to be like, rather than just letting it happen.”

“I don’t know how to unconvince myself,” said Gavin.

“Of course you don’t.”  Valerie snorted. “You can’t.  No one can.”  She narrowed her eyes.  “But you may not have to.”  Reaching out to him, she helped Gavin hop down from the rig.  Facing Zerki, she said, “You can call the others back to the bridge.  I have an idea.”

“What are you thinking?”

She winked.  “I’m going to call upon his lizard brain.”  Gesturing for Gavin to follow, she walked to the lift.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“The rec room.”

Zerki rubbed her eyes.  “Good luck.”

Upon their arrival, Valerie cleared the room.  She pulled back her carnation hair, clipping it in place.  Directing Gavin to stand across from her, she asked, “You ready?”  She picked up a wire basket full of tennis balls.

“Not exactly,” he answered.  “What are we doing?”

“Playing blind dodge ball.”

“How is that supposed to help?”

Valerie smiled impishly.  “Trust me.  Take off your jacket.”

He did as she asked.

“And your shirt.”

He cleared his throat.  “Okay,” he answered and shed his heavy gray shirt.  “My pants, too?”  He breathed into his hands.

“If you want to.”

He laughed awkwardly.  “No thanks.”

“Now, close your eyes and let your starsight guide you.  Ready?”

Gavin blew out his cheeks, closed his eyes and nodded.  “I’m—
ouch
!”  The tennis ball made a loud smacking sound as it struck his abs.

“Keep your eyes closed,” said Valerie, and she retrieved another ball.  She pitched it, striking him in the shoulder.  As quickly as she could, she grabbed and hurled, hitting him in the chest, the leg and in the shoulder again.  But the sixth one sailed wide, as did the next, and the one after it.  He moved easily, fluidly, as if he knew instinctively where the next ball was going to strike and how to position himself to avoid it.

“Taryn.”  His eyes went wide.  “She’s stargazing in the cargo junction with Takeo.  Valerie, I’m doing it!” he cried out, just before a tennis ball struck him full force between the eyes.  He stumbled back and sat heavily on the deck, rubbing his stinging forehead.

Valerie hissed, her hand over her mouth, and she said, “Sorry, Gavin.  Are you okay?”

He shook it off.  “Yeah, I’m fine.  Please, no more tennis balls.”

She reached into the basket.  “Just a few more, to make sure.”

“But I saw Taryn!”

Valerie winked playfully.  “Great!  Now do it again.”

Handily, he rolled away into a crouch, rose to stand and threaded Valerie’s volleys of tennis balls with a curve to the side and a will-timed duck.  At last, he stood before her and took her hand in his, squeezing firmly.  “She’s still in the cargo junction, talking to Takeo about how lucky he is.”  His breathing was ragged.  “And I’m really done with the tennis balls.”

Her chest heaving, Valerie lowered their hands slowly.  She breathed heavily, her face near his neck.  Closing her eyes, she said, “Get dressed and grab a shower in Taryn’s quarters.  Don’t worry, I’ll give her a heads-up.  Captain will be calling an all-hands meeting very soon, and you need to be there for it.”  Glowing, she stepped back and proudly shook his hand.  “Welcome aboard, Navigator.”