by Zen DiPietro
“Besides,” Fallon added, “this is a big, brand-new station. What I’d worry about is being stuck on some four-person outpost somewhere. Just four people on a tiny bucket in the middle of nowhere for six months?” She grimaced for comedic effect. “No thank you.”
“Another good point. Thanks.”
“You’ll do fine,” Minho assured her. “And one day, when you’re the captain of one of these things, I’ll expect free drinks whenever I pass through.”
Fallon and Katheryn laughed.
“Deal,” Katheryn promised.
Fallon checked the time. “Yep. Time for me to sleep. I have about a hundred billion drones to check in the next few days.”
“A slight exaggeration,” Minho said dryly. “And there will be four others of us doing the same thing, so don’t expect too much sympathy.”
“I never do.” She smiled at Katheryn. “See you tomorrow.”
Minho said his goodbye and hurried out into the corridor, practically on Fallon’s heels. “I can’t believe you almost left me in there,” he hissed under his breath.
“I felt like you could handle her.”
“Hah.” He did not sound amused.
“You don’t like her, even a little?” Fallon asked.
They arrived at her quarters and Minho pointed, indicating he’d come in for a minute. When the doors closed behind him, he said, “The lieutenant is a capable officer, nice-looking, and pleasant to hang out with. But I could never date someone who wasn’t in Blackout. They just wouldn’t understand who I really am, and the lies. I’d have to tell so many lies to someone I supposedly cared about. How could that possibly work?”
She’d been mostly teasing, but he’d gone and gotten super serious all of a sudden. It was an interesting topic, though, and one they hadn’t touched on before, even when she’d talked to him about her relationship with Raptor.
“I guess I never thought about it that way,” she said. She hadn’t had any reason to, since the person she cared about was already in Blackout.
“Most Blackout officers don’t have serious relationships. They have flings and short-term things. Our lifestyle doesn’t lend itself to domestic bliss or growing old together.”
“That’s grim,” she said.
“What we do is grim.” He shrugged. “You’re still new. You’ll see. The longer you do this, the more the concept of serious romantic entanglement will seem…” he paused, searching for the right word. “Inapplicable.”
She gave him a long look. “So what you’re saying is that you like Sarkavians.”
The people of Sarkan had a much more relaxed approach to relationships than most people from other planets. Monogamy was uncommon there, while open-ended relationships were the norm.
He shook his head at her in exasperation. “You think you’re funny, don’t you?”
“Sometimes,” she admitted, stepping forward to activate the doors to her quarters, which swished open. “Now go. Goodnight!”
He muttered something in response, and she suspected it was at least somewhat unflattering to her.
She laughed as she walked to the necessary to get ready for bed.
“Twenty thousand, two hundred and fifty-eight drones done, and one to go.” Fallon crawled down the conduit for her last drone check. Her running count of how many of them she’d already checked was fiction rather than reality, but it felt like the truth.
When she had made sure the last drone was fully functional, she rewarded herself by lying back in the conduit, closing her eyes, and letting out a long sigh.
She spent a few minutes just listening to the stillness inside the bowels of the station. It was nice. Calming, really. Having spent so much time in them, she could imagine taking a nap in one.
She tucked the idea away, just in case there was some time in her life that she wanted to sleep without being found.
Amused, she got back up and started on her way out of the conduit.
When she climbed out, she closed it behind her and indulged in a good back and arm stretch. At least these general-access conduits were a little larger than the ones that were locked down for security purposes, but she could use a good massage or about an hour lying on a techbed to work out her kinked muscles.
Surely the infirmary already had the techbeds installed and in full operation. She’d have to check that out.
At least her tool kit was of the common variety that could be found at regular intervals around the station. She wouldn’t have to trek it all the way back to main engineering or some other place in the opposite direction of her quarters.
After securing the tools and logging them in, she paused to consider which she wanted more—a soothing session on a techbed or food. It was a tough call.
If she grabbed some food first, she’d enjoy the techbed more. Fine. Decision made.
The makeshift mess hall was closer than her quarters, so she went there first. Opening cabinets and the cooler, she tried to decide what she could prepare soonest and consume quickest.
Noodle soup seemed like her best bet. One heat-ex setting and two minutes of her time would enable her to slurp down the noodles and soup. That would be enough to tide her over until after her techbed session.
She’d enjoy a snack at a more leisurely pace afterward.
They were simple goals, but sometimes, happiness was a very simple thing.
As she ate, she checked her comport to see if the specialized techbeds in the locker rooms of the station’s gym were fully operational.
Success.
Those were specifically designed for user-friendly service after overusing one’s body. Exactly what she needed.
After cleaning her dishes and putting them away, she grabbed a protein bar. On the way to the gym, she ate it.
By the time she arrived at the gym, the food had taken the edge off her hunger. In retrospect, she should have brought a second protein bar and eaten it while she was on the techbed, but it was too late for that now.
She entered and walked directly across the gym toward the lockers. It was only when she was halfway across that she noticed someone up on the track, running. After a careful look, she realized it was Priestley. He didn’t appear to notice her.
Too bad he didn’t have someone to run with. Having a partner always made it more challenging and enjoyable.
Asimov had a nice gym. An enclosed pegball court was off at the far end, and she also saw a large climbing wall, a boxing ring, and multiple cardio and weight machines. Once the crew arrived, it would be up to them to initialize all the equipment and get everything into working order, but it was all there, waiting to be put to use.
Just like the rest of the station.
Soon. In only two more weeks, this place would be buzzing with life. She had a lot to do before then, too.
But for now, she’d take a little time to rest and get herself in shape for the next day.
She passed by the rows of lockers to the back of the locker room. A single techbed had been installed, and waited for her command.
Gym-style techbeds like this had very little in common with medical-grade ones. Physically, they looked mostly the same, but this unit was very simple compared to the kind that doctors used in an infirmary.
She lay down and let the machine scan her, looking for inflammation, swelling, bruising, misalignment, and other minor issues. Any notable injuries would prompt an alert to seek medical treatment.
Fortunately, she didn’t need a professional’s help. She’d have been out of luck, since the medical crew hadn’t arrived yet.
For some reason, she found that funny and chuckled as the techbed worked its magic.
A half hour later, her sore muscles had been soothed and she felt renewed. If not for her general fatigue, she could do another work shift.
She wondered if Jess utilized the techbed to continue with her double shifts.
She probably did.
As she walked through the gym, she looked for Priestley, but he’d already lef
t. She made a mental note to check up on him and make sure he was doing okay.
Approaching the exit, she thought about what she wanted to do with her evening. She felt like doing something quiet in her quarters. A holo-vid, maybe, or doing some language study.
The doors opened just before she reached the sensor and Jacen Arrem froze to avoid walking into her path.
“Sorry, Emiko. I didn’t expect anyone to be here, and I was just barreling along.”
“Not at all. We didn’t even bump into each other.” She smiled to put him at ease.
“Getting a workout?” he asked. “It’s a nice gym.”
“It is, but no. Just a visit to the techbed to ease my back. I had a bit of hunchback syndrome, with all the upper and lower back pain that goes with it.”
“Ahh.” He nodded sympathetically. “I know it well.”
“You just barely missed Priestley,” she said. “He was running earlier. Maybe you two could coordinate and work out together.”
Jacen nodded. “I’ll check with him, thanks. That guy’s too shy for his own good. He must be lonely.”
“Could be. But you guys have things in common. You’re both young, are on this station, and have legs…so why not work out together?”
He laughed. “I’ll use that when I try to convince him to come with me.”
“Don’t blame me if you do and it doesn’t work.” She chuckled.
“I promise I won’t.”
“I’ll leave you to it,” she said. “Enjoy!”
“You bet.” He moved aside and walked past her into the gym.
She strolled back to her quarters at a leisurely pace. After all the rushing around she’d been doing, she was in the mood to take things slowly and center herself in calmness.
It seemed like a good way to transition into the last preparations of Asimov, and think ahead toward the investigation of Captain Lydecker.
As she walked through the corridor, she imagined it full of life, with crew members bustling this way and that way. She liked that thought. She felt good about helping to put Asimov into service.
It was nice to feel useful, like she was finally doing something good for the PAC.
She arrived at her quarters and went to the kitchenette. She put her voicecom into do-not-disturb until morning so that anyone intending to invite her to something would see that she was occupied. Then she put together a simple meal of chicken, rice, and a salad.
Her food prep skills were improving, thanks to Minho.
After they were done here and she reunited with Avian Unit, would he continue as a mentor for the team, or would he be given a new assignment? If he knew, he’d never mentioned it, and she’d never asked. Most likely, PAC command would send him to some new position, but she wished he could become a member of her team for real, rather than just honorarily. He had experience, a different skillset than the rest of them, and got along well with all of them.
If she requested he be added to her team, would PAC command even consider it? Would Minho?
It would be beyond presumptuous for her to make such a request.
On the other hand…she was the team leader of a Blackout unit. Wasn’t it her job to look out for the best interests of the team? They’d certainly be stronger with Minho.
Before she had a chance to second-guess herself, she left her food in the kitchenette and sat down at the voicecom. She opened a channel to Admiral Krazinski, ensured it was secure, then paused. Normally, she’d communicate via an image feed, but a request like this felt like it should be more formal.
Yes, she’d make it a written request.
She let out a deep breath, staved off the voice that told her to reconsider this, and began speaking.
“Admiral Krazinski, as the team leader of my unit, it is my duty to ensure the team’s maximum efficiency. To that end, I formally request that our current mentor be added as an official member of the team, in whatever capacity you and he deem appropriate.”
Should she say more? Justify her reasoning?
No. Krazinski would know all possible arguments both for and against the placement. Best to keep it simple. As per protocol, she didn’t mention any names but the admiral’s in the message, so it felt a little vague for something so significant, but there was no way around that.
Fine. She should just do it, before she changed her mind.
Her hand hovered over the voicecom.
Delete or send?
She was hesitating too long. Giving herself too much opportunity for second thoughts.
“Send message,” she said quickly.
It was done. She grimaced, wondering if she’d just made a big mistake or a massive faux pas.
Well, there was nothing to do about it now. Most likely, Krazinski would either assign Minho to the team, if that fit with his plans, or, more likely, simply ignore her request.
She’d just have to wait and see.
After retrieving her still-hot food from the kitchenette, she sat down in front of the couch. She used the low table in front of the couch as a table. It reminded her of living with her parents in Japan, and sitting on the floor at a low table rather than a high table with chairs.
Rather than turn on a holo-vid or some music, she listened to silence as she ate. At least, as silent as life got on a space station. It seemed like silence until she really started to pay attention to her surroundings.
Space stations and ships both had a certain, barely perceptible hum. She couldn’t explain it, but it was there—not quite a sound, not quite a vibration. A sort of resonance. Of course, ships and space stations had very different feels. Ships in motion had a more obvious sense of sound and vibration. The feel of a space station was far subtler.
Look at her now! Once a largely Earth-bound girl, she was now a space-dweller. A senior officer, even.
It was hard not to feel good about that. She hadn’t even had her twenty-second birthday yet.
She tried to imagine herself at age thirty, and what she might have accomplished by then. No luck. She really couldn’t imagine that far into her future.
Once she’d finished eating, she set her dishes aside and exhaled slowly, letting her head fall back. She soaked in the sense of stillness and quiet.
The door chime rang, bringing her head up. She’d forgotten to set it to do-not-disturb mode.
Ah well. At least she’d had a little solitude.
“Doors open,” she said aloud as she stood. She didn’t usually use voice commands for environmental controls, but sometimes they were more convenient than proximity sensors.
Minho stood in the corridor, looking curious. “Anything wrong?”
He stepped in and the doors closed behind him.
“No,” she assured him. “Just giving myself a little victory lap after completing the installation. You know, a quiet evening. Alone.”
She arched an eyebrow at him pointedly.
“Ah. Gotcha. Sorry. I just wanted to check up on you, since it’s unusual for you to go all do-not-disturb. I thought maybe you’d gotten cabin fever and decided to start plotting something nefarious.”
“Like what?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I’m sure it would be terrible.”
He grinned, and the corners of his eyes crinkled up in that charming way that they did.
She settled back into her previous spot and gestured at the couch. “Have a seat.”
“I don’t want to intrude.”
His politeness made her smile.
“What?” he asked.
“I was just thinking how much more courteous you are than my teammates. When you want to be, anyway. If Hawk wanted to be here, there would be very little I could do to get him out.”
“Yes, well. Not everyone can be this ideal.” He put a hand on his hip and tilted his head back, affecting a pompous expression. “I know it’s unfair to everyone else.”
She smirked. “Hah. Your sense of humor fits right in, though. Actually, you’re a great
fit for the team.”
He dropped the act and sent her a curious look. “I feel like you’re leading up to something.”
She gestured to the couch again. “First, sit. You’re being weird, towering about over there.”
He sat. “I don’t tower.”
“You do.”
He shook his head. “Fine. So what were you saying before?”
“I was just wondering,” she paused, suddenly feeling self-conscious. What if the idea of being on her team offended him? He’d had a team. He might not want to revisit all that. “You know, since you fit with Avian Unit so well, if you’d consider a long-term assignment with us.”
“I go wherever Blackout tells me to. I don’t pick my assignments.”
“Of course not,” she said quickly. “But if you could, would you want to?”
“Since I’ve been with you pretty long-term already, I’m guessing you actually mean something more like ‘indefinitely.’ Is that right?”
She shrugged, going for a casual vibe. “Sure. Hypothetically speaking.”
“Now you’re the one being weird,” he said. “But I’ll play along. If I were assigned as a long-term associate of Avian Unit, I wouldn’t hate it.”
“Prelin’s ass,” she swore. “Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘damned by faint praise?’ You’re about to hurt my feelings, here.”
He grinned. “Look at you, swearing like a grown-up. Aw.”
“And now you’re antagonizing me again, like when we first met. I take it back. You’re not polite and I rescind my invitation. Avian Unit is now officially a no-Minhos-allowed club.” She crossed her arms.
“Oh, so it’s a full-on invitation? Not just a hypothetical?” He was enjoying this too much.
“Nope,” she denied. “You’re far too obnoxious to invite into my super-secret club. I already have a Hawk, so we’re full up on obnoxiousness, with no vacancies. Sorry.”
He laughed. “If I got orders to be part of Avian Unit, I’d be glad. How’s that?”
She squinted at him, looking for any hints of teasing, but his smile seemed only warm and sincere.
He was really good at switching between sincerity and sarcasm. She needed to up her game, apparently.
