Second Earth

by Stephen A. Fender

  “We should probably pick up the pace,” Shawn said after a quiet moment.

  She knew he was right, but she was reluctant to get back to reality. Thankful for the precious few moments she and Shawn were able to share, she nodded slowly and hummed an approval.

  Exiting the arboretum, Shawn stepped up to the first computer terminal in the passageway.

  “Computer?”

  “Ready for query,” the female voice breathed heavily.

  Shawn looked to Melissa, who was staring at the computer with marked fascination. “It never sounds like that when I make a request.”

  “Really?” he asked in disbelief. “Would you want it to?”

  “No, I just think it’s interesting.”

  “Interesting isn’t the word I’d choose. ‘Annoying’ would be more like it.”

  “Ready for query, Lieutenant Commander Kestrel,” the terminal emitted soothingly. “Or do you no longer need me?”

  As intolerable as it was talking to these machines, Shawn really did need the help. “Computer, locate Captain Krif.”

  “Captain Krif is in his cabin,” the female voice responded, then ended with, “Shawn.”

  Shawn looked at the computer terminal incredulously. Melissa snorted with laughter.

  “Computer, you are not to address me in that manner. Compute?”

  “Oh, Shawn,” Melissa said. “Just leave it alone. We have somewhere we need to be.” With that, she began tugging at his hand as she continued down the corridor.

  “Would you be able to leave it alone?” he asked as he pointed an accusatory finger back in the computer terminals direction.

  “I wouldn’t let it bother me.”

  When at last they finally arrived at the captain’s quarters, the two looked to one another to see who would be the one to knock. After a moment they reached for the door chime in unison. As they smiled at one another, Shawn decided to take the lead.

  “Allow me,” he said with a gracious nod. He pressed the computerized chime, but there was no immediate answer. After a pause he pushed the button again, watching Melissa roll on the balls of her feet as she waited impatiently for the captain to answer. Finally Shawn tried a good old fashioned rap with his knuckles, but again was met with no response.

  “I did hear the computer right, didn’t I?” Shawn asked in bewilderment. “It did say the captain was in his cabin and not in the briefing room?”

  Melissa nodded quickly, glancing from Shawn to the closed door.

  Shawn reached out and rapped his hand against the hard metal of the door once more. This time the door sprang open with a hiss, causing them both to have a start.

  “Yes?” the captain’s voice said before Krif’s head popped out between the partially open door and the frame.

  It didn’t come as a surprise to either Shawn or Melissa to hear the agitation in Richard’s voice. What was surprising was that he was in a very casual state of dress. He had a T-shirt on, and what looked to be an obnoxiously colored plaid-patterned pair of undershorts, his crisp officer’s hat with its highly polished Sector Command logo in its center, and very little else. Then again, most of his body was still hidden behind the door.

  “I thought you might want a report, Captain,” Shawn offered with a Cheshire smile.

  Krif scowled menacingly at Kestrel’s jovialness. “What are you smiling at, ace?”

  “Who? Me?” Shawn replied innocently.

  Krif turned a cold stare to Melissa. “I suppose you’re here for the same thing, too?”

  “I am,” she said, trying hard not to laugh at the captain’s choice of attire—or lack thereof.

  Krif grunted, and shifted his eyes back to Shawn. “I’m a little busy right now, Kestrel. It’ll have to wait.” His tone betrayed his annoyance at being caught off-guard.

  Shawn was still beaming like an idiot, and Melissa had to wonder what was going on in the Lieutenant Commander’s mind.

  “But I thought you ordered us to—” Shawn started, but was immediately cut off.

  “That was forty minutes ago, you son of a—” he began, but when Melissa cleared her throat loudly, he decided to change tactics. “You took your sweet time getting here, so I figured you got lost.”

  “You could have had the ship’s computer page me, sir.” Shawn said in his most sarcastic tone.

  “Well, I didn’t. Consider it the Captain’s prerogative. Besides, I got detained by a last-minute meeting.”

  “In your underwear?” Melissa answered with a curious stare.

  “Your powers of observation are staggering, Agent Graves,” Krif retorted sarcastically. “And not that it’s any of your business, but no.” Krif then turned back to Shawn. “And you: stop smiling.”

  “Yes, sir,” he replied with a picture-perfect salute. “Anyway, Captain, we’re here now, just as you requested.”

  A sound erupted from behind Krif, but neither Shawn nor Melissa could see past the slightly open door. It sounded oddly like a woman sneezing.

  “Never mind what I wanted.” Krif’s words were quick and sharp.

  “What was that?” Melissa asked, trying to peer around Krif’s body and into the room.

  Richard tensed and he stood tall in the doorway in an attempt to block any holes Melissa might be able to see through. “It was nothing. And, even if it weren’t nothing, it wouldn’t be any of your concern, little miss Sherlock Holmes.”

  “I was just asking a question,” she replied meekly. “You don’t need to snap at me, Captain.”

  “Well, why don’t both of you just can the questions and get off my doorstep before I call ship’s security.”

  “You’d call security on us?” Shawn asked, knowing full well Krif was bluffing. There was someone in his quarters with him—someone he didn’t want to get caught with. Security would be forced to take statements from everyone present, and there was no way Krif was going to allow that to happen.

  Richard sighed heavily. “Fine. You got me. I’m not going to call security. I’m just going to beat you within an inch of your life if you don’t leave right now.”

  There was another sneeze from behind Krif, and what could only be described as giggling.

  A look of serious concern crossed Shawn’s face. “Are you sure you’re doing all right, sir?” he asked as he stepped closer to the door. “It sounds like you have some kind of infestation in there. I’m sure I could—”

  Krif put a palm against Shawn’s chest. “One step closer and I’ll have your commission, hotshot.”

  “And what in the universe would make you think I would be scared of that?”

  Richard sighed heavily, and almost dropped his head in exhaustion. “Don’t you have anything better to do, Kestrel? Don’t you two have a lover’s quarrel to get into, or a broken ship that needs fixing, or an airlock that needs testing?”

  Shawn looked to Melissa and shrugged his shoulders. She likewise returned the gesture, then they both turned to Krif. “Not really,” Shawn offered. “But, I do suppose we could go—”

  “Fine, whatever. Just go do it and be gone.”

  Krif began to close the door, but Melissa’s words stopped him. “But you don’t even know what we’re—”

  “Listen to how painfully clear these words are going to be, Agent Graves. I don’t care if you want to go field-test the ship’s automated self-destruct system. Go away, and go away now. I’ll call you when I’m ready for you to return.”

  There was another sneeze from behind the door.

  “God bless you,” Melissa called out to unseen woman, and then winked devilishly at Krif, who immediately slammed the door in her face.

  “That was…odd,” Shawn said with a puzzled look.

  “Yeah, but it was pretty fun.”

  Shawn had to agree. He snorted softly. “Yeah, it was. You’ve got kind of a dark side, don’t you?”

  “I’ve got lots of sides, mister.”

  “I’m beginning to notice.”

  “You’re just now start
ing to notice?” she asked with a smile.

  “Well, I am a pilot, and somewhat dense.”

  “I’ll take that under advisement.”

  “So,” Shawn asked, drawing out the ‘o’ for a few seconds. “I guess since we have the captain’s blessing, we can go and see what your father left on that storage disk.”

  “You don’t think the Captain would mind?” Her words betrayed no caution and even less guilt.

  “Well, we do have something that needs to get done, and Dick did tell us to ‘go do it and be gone,’” Shawn said, giving his best impersonation of Krif as he quoted him.

  Melissa chuckled. Shawn’s impression of the captain wouldn’t win him any awards, but was nonetheless noteworthy. “How about we meet back at my quarters. Say about 1630?”

  “Just in time to escort you down to the officers’ mess for dinner?”

  She smiled and sighed heavily as she leaned casually against the nearest bulkhead. “I was thinking of dining in this evening.”

  Shawn licked his lips before giving her a toothy grin. “Are you asking me on a date, Agent Graves?”

  She raised her left eyebrow and turned abruptly on her heel, heading off in the direction of her stateroom. Before she got out of earshot, she turned her head and called back over her shoulder, “1630. And don’t be late, hotshot.”

  * * *

  At precisely 1629, Shawn arrived at Melissa’s door. Unlike their meeting with the captain earlier, her door slid open the instant he pressed the chime. Melissa was wearing informal attire that Shawn approved of: cargo shorts and a comfortable t-shirt. He was instantly pleased that he hadn’t relented in his desire to overdress at the last minute.

  Melissa smiled and leaned against the doorframe. “I’m glad to see that your promptness has improved considerably, Commander.”

  Shawn returned the smile. “Well, I’ve learned my way around the ship pretty well.”

  “So I see,” she said with a nod. “Come on in.” She moved out of the foyer and Shawn slipped inside.

  He glanced around the spacious cabin, which took several minutes due to the fact that the compartment was easily twice the size of his own.

  “They gave me an admiral’s stateroom,” she said, sensing his curiosity.

  “They?”

  “Well, Captain Krif,” she answered.

  Shawn gave her an approving nod. “Looks like the captain is getting pretty soft in his old age. I’m shocked he didn’t offer you a coat closet.”

  “I don’t think that would’ve sat well with the Director of the OSI.”

  “Probably not. Still…it’s not too shabby.” Shawn moved to sit on the exceedingly comfortable couch placed below a series of wide view ports. “This must be how the upper crust lives.”

  “Shawn Kestrel, if you are implying in any way that I’m using my position as senior agent to—”

  “I can see your mind reading skills haven’t improved.”

  Apparently they haven’t. Melissa sighed, and then slipped into a comfortable position next to Shawn, tucking her legs under her as she leaned toward him. “Well, I did score a fourteen on my PSI test.”

  “Really?” Shawn asked in surprise. While that score didn’t denote she was a master mind reader by any stretch, it did tell him that she had a much higher than normal mental processing power. “It’s probably what makes you an exceptional agent.”

  “Exceptional?” she asked in astonishment. “You really think so?”

  The commander smirked deviously. “You’re not the only one who can check records, you know.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “You pulled my file?”

  His smile was all the answer she needed.

  “And you read it, I take it?” she continued.

  Shawn leaned closer to her and dropped his voice to just above a whisper. “Now, that would break this little circle of trust we have between us, wouldn’t it?” he asked as he wagged his finger back and forth between them for emphasis.

  Melissa stood and walked over to a tall cabinet on the far side of the bulkhead and removed two glasses. Each contained an amber-colored liquid. “For you,” she said, offering him one of the glasses and resuming her position next to him. By the smell, Shawn could tell it was whiskey. They toasted and took a sip. “You’re right about breaking my trust. It would have.”

  “I know. In all honesty, I couldn’t help but pay you back for your own indiscretion.”

  “Oh really?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “I took a look at your academy transcripts. You know, a little itsy-bitsy peek.”

  Melissa was about to take another sip, then noticed a twinkle in Shawn’s eye. He grinned, and all at once she realized what he must have seen in the record file. She immediately brought her free hand up in a gesture of surrender. “Look, I can totally explain that…”

  “You failed your cadet cruise,” Shawn said as he reveled in the truth he had uncovered. “Not so perfect after all, are we?”

  She pointed an accusatory finger at him, but her tone was still friendly. “It was an honest mistake.”

  “Your reviewing officer didn’t seem to think so.”

  “It was my first cruise!”

  “Um, ninety-five percent of cadets only need one cruise. I saw that you got sent back for a second helping.” He smiled and took another drink. “So, come on. Out with it.”

  “With what?” she asked.

  “I’d like to know what happened on that first cruise. I mean, up to that point your record was stellar. So what happened?”

  “Why don’t we discuss it after we see what’s on this disk?”

  Shawn placed his drink on a nearby table. “You’re stalling.”

  “I am not. I’m simply trying to get the reason for this meeting out of the way.”

  “I see,” he said slyly. “And here I thought you wanted me to join you for dinner.”

  “I do.”

  “But only because of what’s on that data drive we found on Second Earth?”

  Melissa nodded curtly. “It’s important.”

  “The drive?”

  “No,” she smiled. “Dinner. Dinner is important, and I don’t…I just don’t want to eat alone tonight.”

  The commander smirked approvingly. “Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it? A little honesty goes a long way, Agent Graves.”

  “I know. I know. I’m…trying, Shawn. I really am.”

  He could see the struggle going on behind her eyes, and he silently wished there was something he could do to help her. “I can see it,” he finally said. “And…I appreciate the effort. It’ll help us work better together.”

  So, she thought. That’s all he sees me as? As his supervisor? His coworker? “I didn’t call you here under orders, Commander. Or, for that matter, to issue them once you were here.” There, that sounded completely unintentional.

  “Well, that’s a good thing. I don’t take kindly to getting orders over dinner.” He folded his arms tightly across his chest.

  Melissa got the distinct impression that he was about to withdraw. Okay, that didn’t work. Think fast. Salvage the situation. More casual. Calm. Assertive. You can do this.

  “I wanted you here because I didn’t want to be alone tonight.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, and the look of shock on Shawn’s face gave her the affirmation she needed that they were the wrong ones. Whoa! That was way too casual!

  “I mean…I mean what I said before…before I said what I just said…about not eating alone. Here. In this room. Alone. By myself.”

  The surprise on his face morphed to understanding. “Ah, okay. For a minute I thought you wanted me to…you know—”

  “Oh! Oh, no. I mean, really.” Was it getting warm in here? The ship’s internal temperature controls must be acting up. I’d better put in a maintenance request for that tomorrow morning at quarters. It took all her inner strength to stop her hand from rapidly fanning her face. “Wow…just…no.”

  S
hawn slipped closer to her on the couch and gazed into her emerald eyes, lowering the tone of his voice as he came within arm’s length of her. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.”

  She covered her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes, not sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. “I think I’ve done a sufficient job of that myself.”

  He reached up and took ahold of her hands, pulling them away from her face. “No apologies.”

  She opened her eyes and stared back at him. “It must be the whiskey.”

  Shawn nodded, then leaned in several more inches. “It must be.”

  As the enticing aroma of his cologne wafted past her nose, her pulse quickened as he drew nearer. But as much as she wanted to find out what his current intentions were, she needed to get a handle on the situation. Melissa turned from him and stood quickly, then strode toward the wall-mounted safe beside her bed. A minute later she returned with the gold computer cartridge and held it up for Shawn’s inspection, careful to stay a just outside arm’s reach. “We really…really need to see what’s on this.”

  “What about dinner?”

  “What?” she asked. Still flustered, her train of thought was slightly different than what had come out of Shawn’s mouth. “Oh, yes. D-dinner,” she stammered. “It’s on its way from the officers’ mess hall right now.”

  “Wait a second; you get room service, too?”

  Melissa opened her mouth, but before she could respond the door chime sounded. “Ah, that must be it now.” She went to the door and collected the food tray from the waiting crewman. “Thank you. I’ll call when we’re finished.”

  “It’s really hot, ma’am, so you may want to give it a few minutes to cool down,” the crewman said just before he departed.

  The door to Melissa’s quarters closed, and she placed the tray on the large circular table in the corner of her stateroom, motioning Shawn with a tilt of her head to join her. “First the data drive, then we eat.”

  * * *