In the three days she had spent aboard she had heard so much about the legendary commanders of the mid-sized carrier. There was Chief Stephanie Vega, mostly known for countering an Eden Fleet boarding action and keeping the peace, Master of the Helm Ashley Lamport, who was at once known as a gifted pilot and as a barrier to everyone trying to qualify to fly a fighter and from what Ayan had seen most people genuinely liked her. She was like the ship darling, turning heads as she went about her business oblivious to the attention. There was Gunnery Sergeant Frost, who had just been demoted by Acting Captain Alice Valent. He had a much darker reputation that involved revenge, public drunkenness and a terribly volatile on and off relationship with the Chief of Security.
Acting Captain Alice Valent was the most fascinating person aboard. Laura had told her the whole story the first night after they arrived. She actually was Jonas Valent's artificial intelligence and after being released into the computer system of the Overlord II she transferred herself into a human body. Two years later she found who she thought was Jonas Valent and rescued him, leaving before she could discover that he was actually a copy built atop a framework. With more than one corporation and government agency after her, she left before that copy could wake up, see her in person and have the memories of Jonas Valent activated. As a result he went on with his life as Jacob Valance, becoming a bounty hunter, repossession agent, privateer and gun for hire. He made the assumption that Alice was his daughter and used his profession to drift through several sectors as he searched.
In the meantime Alice was on the run, taking jobs where she could until she discovered that Jacob had become a kind of folk hero, and she sought him out. She rescued the real Jonas Valent along the way and after he sacrificed himself for the good of the ship she became the First Officer of the Triton, and to anyone who didn't know her or Jake personally, she was known as the Captain's daughter. After leading a desperate capture mission deep inside a Regent Galactic owned solar system she had become very well respected amongst the crew. To the many people aboard she was legend, yet when Ayan herself walked down the halls people reacted with practical reverence.
On her first day aboard the Triton she wore a vacsuit that looked much like the rest of the crewmembers, only grey instead of black. After speaking to Laura about her role it was plain that no one expected her to do anything but rest and take her time in making up her mind, on finding something she wanted to do aboard. Stephanie had been left with instructions to put Oz in charge, so he was busy catching up, learning about the ship, her senior officers and managing the vessel as it travelled through an extended wormhole.
All the while she was accompanied by guards. By order of the Chief of Security there was always an armed guard watching over her. The junior officer's quarters to either side was occupied by guards and there was always one standing at her door, ready to ensure she had anything she needed. She asked why and was told that keeping her safe was priority one. Minh and Jason didn't hear anything about why she was being treated differently, neither of them were being escorted around the ship or watched over.
Laura had a different theory. Captain Jacob Valance was respected, some of the crew were fiercely loyal to him and a few even feared him. She surmised that Ayan was enjoying some of that respect, that Ayan was being treasured, kept safe. It came as a surprise when Laura suggested she go see Chief Engineer Liam Grady, who was an Axiologist, for more answers.
It was entirely strange, but at first Ayan was so tired that she didn't have the energy to object. How people reacted to her was more informative than any information she gleaned from the security personnel. She dressed differently after the first day aboard, choosing more leisurely clothing, going unarmed, but never ill equipped. Her more ornamental, bracelet like command and control unit was always dangling around her wrist. Hers was a more elaborate version that could widen, narrow, become semitransparent or change colour. It looked like it was made of smooth crystal, a gift from the crew of the wormhole ship where she matured. Her attire and guardians drew veiled stares despite the politeness and space she gave everyone. She didn't want to get in the way, after all.
The security officer who was assigned to escort her to engineering at the end of her third day aboard had four and a half bars on his cuffs, marking him as one of the highest ranking officers on board. His name was Taber Radics and he had come aboard with the Aucharian military during the battle for the Triton. When she tried to strike up conversation with him he answered her questions about his home world of Seneschal, the security on the ship, even Engineering Chief Liam Grady. All his answers were polite, she was addressed as Ma'am as though that was equivalent to the rank of Grand Admiral or some kind of Queen, and he always had a smile for her.
At the same time his eyes searched the hallways ahead of them, scanned people carefully from head to tow and his hand rested on the hilt of his holstered sidearm. There was a security or peace officer at every major hall intersection, even the temporary quarters she'd been assigned somewhere in the center of the ship were well patrolled even though they were only partially occupied from what she could tell. The hallways weren't disused, they just showed more signs of age than the rest of the ship. They were missing the degree of polish the rest of the ship had, and dust had settled on much of the cabling and piping that was neatly sorted along the walls.
They were in the elevator, which had cleared out when they stepped inside, when she asked; “Has anyone instituted cleaning stations aboard?”
He looked at her with mild surprise for a moment before shaking his head; “Only in the bunks, but I'll pass it up the line to Chief Vega.”
“You don't have to go to the trouble, I just couldn't help but notice a little scuffing and settling in the halls in some sections.”
“I'm sorry, Ma'am. We'll have it seen to right away,” he answered as he stared at the lift doors with all seriousness.
It wasn't what she intended. It was meant as an observation, maybe light criticism, but not as an order. She sighed and stared at the lift doors. They opened to reveal a broad, busy corridor with active observation and control stations down its length. The buzz of activity and quick interchange of information was something she hadn't seen since she managed the Engineering section of the First Light.
It only took a few glances to realize that she had been brought to the main repair, maintenance and damage control center. It was a subsection of the Engineering department, she had read, and through a transparent ceiling she could see the main engineering office. According to the ship's organizational charts that was where all the engineering department heads gave orders for their teams, monitored their progress and coordinated. “Good thing you didn't take me that way. I'd cause quite a scene in this skirt,” Ayan muttered just loud enough for her escort to hear.
He suppressed a chortle. “Yes ma'am,” he replied under his breath.
As she passed the bustle and buzz of the broad control corridor quieted and she was met with mild smiles and gentle nods. Her cheeks flushed and she mentally cursed at herself for showing that she was at all flustered. Years of military training had taught her that when a crowd affords someone so much respect the best reaction was to calmly, politely acknowledge it. Keep your back straight, your stride steady, straight and your chin up. As she recovered her attire felt all wrong. Well, not wrong, but very different; confidence showed through very differently in a dress. She was used to being in a uniform, commanding a different kind of respect that came from rank, camaraderie. Being in civilian clothing separated her from the rest of the crew in ways she hadn't realized when she first dressed that morning, add to that her soldierly gait and whatever incidental reputation that had been attributed to her and people admired her from a distance. As she nodded and sent modest smiles at people who stopped to regard her with a grin or a; “Ma'am,” she wondered, with some irritation, what exactly waited for her at the end of the hallway.
There were over thirty people in that hallway, all directing repairs from
what she could tell and she was relieved when she got to the end of the corridor made for fifty or more foremen and women. Broad double doors opened into a heavily armoured airlock where they waited for the doors behind to close, the pressure to equalize with the space beyond the heavier hatch within and then for that two meter thick block of a hatch door to be drawn out by heavy arms.
Ayan peered within and saw something entirely unexpected. The Triton's six main reactors were like thick pillars in a white cathedral and in its center sat a man in robes. His back was to her but she immediately had the sense that he was in meditation.
Between the large sealed reactor chambers and broad spaces between he looked small but compared to her he was a very large fellow, and as she stepped out of the lift the guard smiled at her and whispered; “That's Chief Engineer Grady. Do you need anything else before I leave Ma'am?”
“No, thank you for walking me here Officer Radics,” Ayan replied.
He remained there, staring at her.
“You're dismissed,” she added quietly.
He saluted before closing the hatch.
She shook her head and turned her attention back to the Chief. The first steps she took towards him sounded thunderously loud as they reverberated throughout the large chamber. Her soles were soft, practical, but still fresh from Laura's materializer, so they had just enough stiffness to make too much noise for her comfort.
Liam let out a long breath and stood slowly, almost too gracefully for his height and size. “I told them you'd be all right to find your way here on your own,” he said as he turned and smiled at her. “You've probably browsed the blueprints for the entire ship by now.”
Ayan smiled back at him as she slowly closed the distance and offered her hand. “Just a few decks and the way here.”
He took her hand and shook it firmly but gently. “I'm honoured to meet you Ayan, I'm Liam Grady.”
She let her hand slip out of his, feeling small and delicate at the center of the reactors, standing in front of a man who was the better part of a meter taller than she. “I'm honoured to meet you, Axiologist Grady. I was taught by someone from your order when I was a child and have believed ever since. You couldn't imagine my reaction when I discovered there was a monk aboard.”
“Oh, I'm only a Pilgrim. I was supposed to be a Guide on Seneschal while maintaining a lead engineer's post, but there was a change in plans. Who was your teacher?”
“Tajen Emrissa, she stayed to teach ethics and history for two years. I still wish she could have stayed longer, a lot of us did.”
“I heard of her while I was with my Mentor but never had the chance to meet her. I'm fairly sure she was in retreat somewhere in the north east, though she was known for being a Pilgrim for a very long time.”
“I'm glad she made it back. She didn't speak about her time on Earth often, but by the time she taught us she had two belts.”
“I couldn't imagine, even though I've met Mentors with four,”
Ayan couldn't resist looking down at Liam's loosely tied red belt to see how many places he'd taught or mentored and was a little surprised to find only one marking; the emblem of the Triton had been pressed into the thick cloth. The gentleman's easy confidence and slightly weathered look suggested that he'd already taught hundreds, thousands of people.
“I'm only at the beginning of my journey, much like you, as I understand it. Word has spread across the ship that you've returned by near miraculous means.”
“I wouldn't call it a miracle, more good science and more dedication that I could begin to return. I still don't understand how that could lead to the quiet stares and smiles I've been fetching.”
“I'm on leisure time, so let's explore while I catch you up. Have you seen the heart of this ship yet?”
Ayan looked around at the large reactors and nodded; “I think so.”
“Well, in one respect you're right, but this ship has another heart that's just as important. You might have seen it marked as the Family Quarters?”
“I noticed, it takes up over twenty percent of the ship's interior space.”
Liam led her towards the main hatchway. “At its center is the Botanical Gallery, which I've come to call the Garden.”
“Ah, I haven't been cleared to see most of the ship. Laura was saying Chief Vega has been tightening security.”
“You probably haven't been told, but we have an assassin aboard. His or her motives are unclear at best, but our Chief of Security has made changes to keep everyone, especially key personnel, as safe as possible.”
“That explains a lot, actually. I've spent all my time here going between Laura's quarters, my little temporary quarters and the infirmary, or should I say hospital.”
Liam nodded; “I heard they opened the attached rooms since there were so many wounded from our encounter at Pandem. One of my people said he thought he was transferred to a different ship when he woke up in what looked like a normal two bed hospital room.”
“That's Iloona's doing. She's really been pushing the staff and they're giving her their all. I think they're just happy to have a real doctor aboard. Hard to believe that you've gone so long without one.”
“So she's staying?” Liam asked as the main hatchway closed behind them and they waited for the pressure to equalize.
“Well, her litter of three are starting to venture out of her pouch, so I think she took that as a sign that she should stay on.”
“That must make treating people complicated,” Liam chuckled.
“You'd think, but one of her eldest helps and she keeps them well in hand even when they're crawling around. One of her little ones crawled right into my hair yesterday when I was visiting Jacob,” she said as she ran her hand up and under a mess of blonde curls.
“That must have been something to see.” The door opened and they strode, side by side down the Engineering Control Corridor.
“You don't have to stop in and make sure everything's in order?” Ayan whispered as she kept pace with her escort's long strides. It took some effort on her part.
“All the repairs are scheduled, the critical systems are in order and my second has it all well in hand for the time being. It took three straight days, and everyone's in for ten hour shifts for the next two weeks but it's time for some of us to get some rest.”
“If you would rather go to your quarters and get some rest, I could visit another time,” Ayan whispered back at him.
“There's nothing I'd rather be doing.” He reassured her as they passed through the lift doors. “Besides, I have to wait for the stims to wear off.”
Ayan smiled and nodded; “I slept fourteen hours when they finally showed me to a bunk here. I think I was on stims for four days at that point. Still just starting to feel rested now.”
“Mister McPatrick was telling me yesterday how bad it was down there. Now that's an old soldier before his time.”
“He was tunnel fighting for a over a week before Minh and I arrived. I'm glad I didn't see much of that myself. We call him Oz, by the way.”
Liam looked at her lingeringly, his expression still pleasant but it almost looked like he was sizing her up for a moment. “One wouldn't assume you have so much service behind you just to look.”
“Do you think that's part of the problem?” The express car arrived at it's destination and the doors opened to reveal a broad central corridor. Ayan had seen it on the blueprints for the ship. There were several main corridors just like the one they stepped into leading to the Botanical Gallery and around the Command Decks. She couldn't help but notice that the inner elevator door was so thick it required special support and sliders. They were entering another interior armoured section of the Triton, the Family Quarters.
“You mean the extra respect you're being paid? I suppose you could call it a problem. Before I explain what's behind that I suppose I should get the business out of the way.”
She shot him a look with a raised eyebrow. “Business?”
“Right. With
both Captain Valance and Acting Captain Valent out of commission no one has had the courtesy to place you somewhere.”
“I've been giving Laura a hand and learning about the ship between visits to the Infirmary, so I honestly haven't had much time to notice.”
“Well, as Oz put it things are falling into line aboard the Triton. With so many displaced military aboard and the weeks of training our people had before Captain Valance left for Pandem relative chaos is turning to order. Everyone who isn't considered a civilian is given orders aboard ship, exactly as one would while serving in the military.”
“And you have something in mind for me,” Ayan concluded as they came to a divide in the corridor with a waist high planter in the middle. Various flowers of all colours filled the space with their fragrances, and the light above changed to a warm, yellow light. Along the sides of the corridor were two levels of apartment doors with a railed balcony overlooking the thickening divide between the sides.
As they walked along the flowers gave way to trees and finally the corridor opened up to reveal a tall space with a simulated blue sky, real grass covered earth, fruit bearing trees, pathways, a broad pond where she could see three of Alaka's children splashing at each other and three levels of balconies. What Liam had called a garden was really more of a park, with vines climbing the walls, finding purchase up balconies. Further in she could see a few natural vegetable and berry gardens. rows of hedges, transparent hydroponic stacked huts interspersed throughout. Ayan stopped dead in her tracks and just took the sight in, felt the breeze on her face and smelled the fertile, moist air.
“This Gallery and the living space around it take up so much space for a reason, and it's worth every square meter,” Liam whispered from beside her. “The civilians did most of the restoration and planting with a great deal of help from crew who had time to volunteer. Using seed stores, fertilizer and techniques found in the ship archives this is what they achieved.”
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