by Stone, Layla
When they got the suits off, they rushed to Sasha’s side.
Sci looked directly at Ansel. “She’s getting worse.”
“I’m fine,” Sasha argued, but her eyes were closed, and her skin was paler than before.
“Please let me help you,” Sci said to his wife, running his hands through her hair.
“What’s wrong with her?” Pax asked.
Yelena held her breath, wondering the same thing.
Sci looked at Ansel and then Pax. “She’s pregnant.”
17
Lucky Day
Yon was in his office when Clalls walked in, pulled back a chair, and sat down. Never in the history of Yon’s life did he express an open-door policy. The fact that the Night Demon hybrid would think it was okay to walk in and plop himself down was staggering.
“Would you like to know why I’m here?” the little bastard asked.
“No. And you can see yourself right back out because after you ditched a fellow shipmate on Addamas, you’re lucky you’re still a Federation crew member,” Yon said as he returned his attention to the Minky screen and the next hundred or so messages he had to read and respond to.
“As if I didn’t see that you put in an incident report for that. One more for my file, but not enough to get me discharged. But that’s not why I’m here. There was a grievance put in against you. The plaintiff said you were hostile towards them. The crew member claims you’re abusing your power.”
Clalls sat forward, his elbows on his knees.
Another grievance? Another for the list, Yon thought mentally. It wasn’t the first time he had made an unnamed enemy on a ship. “Male or female?”
“Does it matter?”
“If it’s a male, I will meet him in the training room. We’ll go a few rounds, he’ll get in a few hits before I knock him out, and then we’re done. If it’s a female, we can transfer her off the ship. So, yes, it does matter.”
Clalls raised a white eyebrow. “What if she wants to fight instead of leave?”
“I’m not fighting a female.”
“She might like it.”
It was then that Yon wondered if this were a true grievance. Why would Clalls be in his office and not Rannn? Banking on the fact that it was a story created to upset him, he turned back to his work. “She won’t like fighting with me.”
Clalls coughed, covering a laugh.
“I’m busy, Clalls, go find someone else to piss off.”
“It’s not a joke.”
“Fine, it’s not a joke. I’ll deal with it. Now, get out.” Yon would have held up his knife to warn the bastard, but it was currently lightyears away in the hands of a certain Allus.
“Sometimes, when I get bored, I look up what other people are working on. I noticed that Shady received notification of a grievance against you. Once the report was filed, it gave W&T access to the plaintiff’s personal files, as well as yours.” Clalls sat back and shrugged. “Shady, being the nosey cyborg she is, started digging. She saw that the female had a history of putting in grievances. Shady saw the response you sent the plaintiff when she wanted someone’s transfer denied. With all the evidence, Shady went to talk to the female, got her story, asked her some questions, and then asked me to come and talk to you because, and I quote, ‘he’s a tarq.’”
Yon waited for Clalls to continue. When he didn’t, he said, “Ask your questions.”
“I don’t have to. You’re a tarq.”
“I’m not a tarq. And her grievance was for abuse of power. Ask your stupid questions, Demon.”
Clalls smiled a toothy smile, which could have been taken as a predatory warning, but Yon could snap him like a nutrient bar, so he didn’t rise to the bait. Furthermore, Yon added, “I know how you work, you’re a nip. You hate everyone equally. You abuse power because you can. And I also know that you don’t care to get to the bottom of this. You just want to spread the misery of your ugly face.”
Unfazed, Clalls said, “Shady already wrote up a report and sent it to Rannn. Do you want to know what she recommended?”
“No. Because as much as the little cyborg likes to bother me by citing regulations, I can guess.”
Clalls leaned in his chair and stretched his arms back while arching his spine. When he finished, he linked his fingers behind his head and put his boots up on his desk.
Yon reached over and grabbed a water package. Before taking a sip, he threatened, “Remove your boots, or I will remove your feet.”
“I can’t. I was told by Ansel that it’s good for my blood circulation.”
Yon finished his drink and set it aside. Then, like a flash, he reached out, grabbed the bastard’s left boot, pulled him out of his seat, and twisted the foot—not far enough to break all of the bones but enough to strain the ligaments. Clalls cried out.
Dropping the male to the floor in a lump, he said calmly, “Now, get out of my office.”
Mumbling under his breath, Clalls said, “And people call me a cold-hearted tarq.”
The office door opened, and Shady walked in. She looked at the floor and asked, “What are you doing down there?”
Clalls moved from the floor and stood on his good foot. “Just stopped in to see how things were going.”
Shady looked him over. “Right, and I’m Seth of Stars.”
That’s when Yon wondered if Shady had truly sent Clalls. “Clalls said you sent him here to talk to me about the grievance.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You came to watch me tell him about the grievance?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Clalls said as he grabbed the back of the chair and hobbled towards the door. “I just came to share information with the commander, and he attacked me.”
Yon didn’t correct him because there was no point in arguing the lie. Shady had called it correctly. And if he wrote up a false grievance, both he and Shady could vouch for the truth.
As soon as the door to his office had shut, Shady took a seat. Yon followed suit and sat back down in his chair.
“I’m assuming Clalls told you about the grievance?”
Yon was obviously not getting any work done anytime soon. He touched his screen, put it to sleep, and turned to his uninvited visitor. “He told me the grievance had been filed and finished already.”
“It has. Faster than any other grievance in Federation history.”
“Well, good for you.”
“I also made a recommendation for you.”
“What are you talking about?”
Shady pointed to his Minky screen and spoke in a rapid, matter-of-fact tone. “I sent you a copy of the findings and recommendations from the grievance charge. Check your messages. I was able to cite several regulations to have the plaintiff removed from space travel and given a station on the Sennite planet to finish off her last nine years of service. The Sennites, as you know, are a matriarchal race. Since all the female’s complaints have been against men, it was obvious.”
Yon was about to activate his screen when she continued. “Captain Rannn approved it and said it was an excellent recommendation. So, I decided since he liked that, I should give him my second recommendation for the defendant. I gave you three days to take your mandatory training. It only took me two hours to take the teacher’s course, but I can process information faster than you can.”
Yon felt his lips purse together. With a long, drawn-out pause, he finally touched his screen, activated it, and pulled up his messages. He found hers and skimmed the contents.
It is clear the plaintiff’s claim was false. But had the commander acted with honorable tact, the situation wouldn’t have escalated to these levels. It is recommended that he take the Effective Leadership Habit Formation Training. Due to the nature of the grievance, it is recommended the defendant take this training within the next nine shift cycles.
Yon pulled up the Federation video modules because he was sure there was no such training.
He typed in the name and hit Search.
&nb
sp; Seconds later, he was prompted with a single result: Effective Leadership Habit Formation Training.
He read the details and what the class included. Theoretically applied knowledge of the workplace, training through real-world application, in-training work with an instructor, completion of assignments, face to face meetings with the teacher, and an evaluation.
Yon wanted to pick up his Minky screen and throw it against the wall. Instead, he clutched his fists tightly. The training was a big waste of time. It was also a slap in the face. But it had been approved by the captain. Yon had to take it. “And you’re my instructor?”
“I am,” Shady said primly.
Tilting his head back and forth, he waited to see if she was joking. She wasn’t.
“This is going to be a nightmare,” he said. “When do we start?”
“I’m free now.”
Yon should have expected Shady to be high-handed. “I don’t know if I can listen to you for hours. Your voice makes me want to stab my eardrums.”
Shady pulled out a knife from behind her back and set it on the desk in front of him. “Go ahead, I know sign language, too.”
Yon’s office door opened, and Rannn walked in. Shady stood up respectfully, and Yon slowly stood. “Captain.”
“Yon, I came in to tell you that today’s your lucky day. Sasha needs a relief pilot.”
Shady asked, “What’s wrong with Sasha?” Yon was glad that she had asked because he wanted to know, too. Especially since she was with Ansel, and whatever was wrong with her, Ansel should have been able to heal.
Rannn answered, “She’s sick.”
“She’s with a doctor. Or did she contract a disease he can’t fix? In that case, Sasha doesn’t need a relief pilot, the entire ship needs to be quarantined,” Shady stated.
Rannn looked at Shady when he answered, “Sasha’s pregnant. Ansel can’t use his medscope on her because it might hurt the baby. He’s given her natural remedies to ease her nausea, but it’s not helping.”
Yon wasn’t thinking about the fact that Sasha was sick. No, he was thinking about how fast he could get to transporter 802, and how he would get a chance to see Yelena face to face. He had hours’ worth of things he planned to tell that female.
Yon moved from his chair, already planning the things he needed to grab before he left. “I’ll be ready in five. Heading their way in ten.”
“I will be with you,” Shady declared.
“The hell you will,” Yon countered.
“You haven’t finished your training. You have a deadline to take it, and I have a deadline to give it.”
Yon cursed while glaring at Rannn for approving the training.
Rannn hesitated, drawing out the urgency of the situation. “Shady stays.”
“I’ve taken basic space flight training. If we took a sloop, I could fly Yon to the transporter while giving him his training. Then I could fly Sasha and Sci back,” Shady offered.
Rannn shook his head. “I’ve already talked to Amevi. He’s flying there and back. There isn’t enough time between flights to give Yon his training. He’ll take it when he gets back.”
“Yes, sir,” Shady said.
Yon couldn’t wait any longer. He moved past the uninvited visitors and walked out, heading to the elevator to grab his go-bag.
18
Actions Speak Louder
Yelena was in the galley. She had found a missing persons report for the planet. They were separated into thousands of regions, but she had the time, and she was determined to find Decoud. With luck, Cami’s brother would have turned in a missing persons report for his sibling. Thankfully, the report was listed under the missing person and not the family member who’d filed it. Although the person who’d reported them missing was in the details page.
The ship had not moved, and Sasha was still in medical. No one had talked to her after she’d left the bay. Not that she minded. Sasha was pregnant and would need attention. Yelena was happy for her. Thinking about their crew, she wondered what it would be like to have a baby on the ship.
Yelena imagined what she would do if she had a child. By default, of course, she thought of having a pale baby with white hair and skin to match his or her father. It was so silly to fantasize about such a thing. She pushed those thoughts away and returned to scanning the missing persons pages for the past fifty years.
The door slid back, and the massive male from her daydreams walked in. Yelena startled so badly, she stood up. “Yon?”
“Yelena.” His tone was a little biting, and she knew it was real. That’s when she felt her insides shrink a little. Yon moved farther into the room and pointed at the Minky pad. “I was wondering if you brought it.”
She looked at the pad. “Of course, I did. It’s protocol.”
“You know what else is protocol? Taking the test I sent you.”
The test! A quick gasp of air, and she covered her mouth. “I forgot.”
He reached down and grabbed her pad, then looked at the screen. “You forgot? Even though you have access to your messages and the quantum network?” He got quiet, and she could see him reading the names. “What is this? Why are you looking for a missing Terran?”
She wondered if he would give back her Minky. It was very private, and she didn’t know if he was going to say something rude about Cami not being important. “Can I have my pad back? I’ll take the test right now.”
He didn’t hand it back. “Answer my question.”
She looked away. “I lost a friend. I was trying…to find her family to let them know what happened to her.”
Yon was silent for several moments. Then he looked back at the screen, touched it, and she thought this was it. This was when he would tell her that she’d messed up by putting Cami first.
“What’s her name?” His voice was soft, similar to the way he’d talked to her in the Daamas Rounder.
It took her two tries before she could find her voice. “Cami. Her brother…his name is Decoud.”
Yon tapped the screen and continued tapping it. Her eyes found the floor, and then her legs slowly brought her back to the bench seat. As she sat there, she didn’t know what she was feeling. Empty, cold, stuck.
Yon moved to the other side of the table, and she was able to see the screen he was searching. It was a Federation database. He was currently skimming past names that started with the letter B.
Her body moved farther up the table to get a better look. When they got to the names that started with C, Yelena’s lungs seized. Right there were five different reports for the name Cami.
Yon opened the first one and went to the details page. Yelena read the names of the family members. “That’s not her,” she said quickly.
He exited out of that file and selected the second one. Again, she read the family names and said, “That’s not her either.”
On the fifth one, she was sure her stomach was twisted with bands as Yon pulled up the file and selected the details. The family list didn’t show Decoud but it did say, Amy and Benjamin. Cami’s parents. Yelena stabbed the screen. “That’s her! That’s her…parents’ names.”
The tingles in her neck started, and she stepped back. All the emotions in her gushed out. She’d found them! Cami’s family. Overwhelmed, she was internally shaking.
Yon looked around her and stepped back.
This was exactly what he had feared. Worse, it was in a small area. She moved back again, and the illumia followed her, surrounding her protectively.
Gasping for air, she tried to push down her emotions. Her neck had stop prickling, but that didn’t help because she had loosed enough illumia in the room to knock Yon out for a year. She didn’t know if Yon was afraid. He didn’t speak, he just stood there, watching.
In her mind, she called out for Sci. Please make the illumia eject. Please. I need your help, Sci. I’m so sorry to bother you.
A brief moment later, all the illumia moved as one to the ejection shoot. It opened, and they were sucked in. Eve
n when they were all gone, Yon didn’t move, and neither did she.
Thank you, Sci. Thank you.
When Yon still didn’t speak, she decided that there was no getting around what was going to happen. “I’m ready for whatever you’re going to say or do.”
“I doubt that.”
Holding out her hands, she let them drop. “I’m ready.”
He moved back to the table, picked up the Minky pad, and handed it to her. She took it. “What are you going to tell them?” Yon asked.
She wasn’t expecting that. It took her a few moments to come up with something. “I’m going to tell them about their daughter. How strong she was. How…” She felt the illumia again. Yon stepped back, but this time, instead of being stiff as a sheet of metal, he looked at her face, seeming almost worried.
“Breathe, Lena. In through your nose, and out through your mouth.”
She did that and got it together faster. There were fewer illumia around her this time. Only ten bursts. She used her own hand and guided them to the ejection shoot. When they were gone, Yon stayed back. “I didn’t know you could touch them.”
“They belong to me. They can’t hurt me.”
“That’s convenient.”
His tone once again normal, she thought it best to just acknowledge. “I didn’t tell Ansel I wanted to keep my illumia, but I’m glad he left it. It’s a part of me.”
Yon didn’t get a chance to respond. The galley door opened, and Pax walked in. He saw them and tilted his head dramatically. “Why are you two standing so far apart. It’s like you’re about to start fighting.”
Yon turned around to face the Red Demon. “I don’t fight females.”
Pax snorted. “Since when?”
Yelena was facing Yon’s back and wondered if Yon gave Pax a scathing expression. Because the next thing Pax did was chuckle. “I came in to get Yelena and bring her back to medical. Ansel and I are going back down.”
“No, you’re not. This is a scouting mission. Need me to explain what that means?”
