by Jordan Rivet
“THAT WENT WELL,” DAVID said as soon as they were in the corridor outside the bridge.
“They’re all at each other’s throats.”
“Doesn’t matter. Didn’t you see how you shut them down? They all agreed to abide by your decision, whether they realize it or not.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Esther said dryly.
“I’m serious,” David said. He put his hands on Esther’s shoulder. They were heavy and warm. His eyes burned behind the crack in his glasses. “They’ll do whatever you want. They know how important this discovery is. Judith and Dirk can fight over the Catalina all they want, but you’re the one with the power here.”
Esther frowned. “I don’t know about that. You don’t know Judith. Why were you fawning over Mrs. Cordova anyway?”
“For balance. This shouldn’t be a two-way fight, and she has more influence than they realize. Like I said, it doesn’t matter. You are going to make the call.”
David removed his hands from Esther’s shoulders, brushing her cheek with his fingers as he did. He looked proud, though Esther wasn’t sure whether he was proud of himself or of her.
“And I suppose you want me to do things your way,” she said.
“Without any guile whatsoever, yes.”
“Do you really think the Galaxy will come after us? That’s what I’m worried about.”
Esther remembered how Captain Boris had sounded in their final conversation on the radio, right before he pushed her friend Paris over the side of the destroyer. Cold. Contemptuous. It had been like talking to a barracuda. David paused before answering, rubbing the knuckles of his right hand.
“If they have the same ability to travel that we’re about to have,” he said, “it’s a definite possibility. Boris isn’t going to forgive me for stealing his ship and running off with you.”
Esther didn’t really understand David’s history with Boris. They had been friends, but whatever their falling-out had been over, it directly preceded his departure from the Galaxy. He had abandoned his position and risked everything when he decided to help her—or when he decided to get out from under Boris’s rule.
She was still standing close to him, close enough to feel the warmth coming from his body in the chilled corridor. She wanted to reach out and touch him, perhaps put her hand in his, but something held her back. Maybe David was right about not giving the tech to everyone, but the way he had manipulated the council made her nervous. She shouldn’t make this decision too quickly.
But he was leaning toward her. He smelled like soap and sea spray. His eyes locked on hers. Her pulse quickened. She couldn’t think clearly. Maybe that’s what he wants. Get a grip, Esther.
“I’ve got work to do,” she said, stepping back suddenly. “I’ll see you later.”
David pushed his glasses back up on his nose. “At dinner?”
“Maybe. I still have a lot to do before we reach the Amsterdam.”
“Fine,” David said briskly. “Well, let me know when you make your decision. Oh, and if you decide to do things my way, don’t talk to anyone about your design until I seal the deal. If you go around telling everyone all about it, I won’t have anything to sell.”
David turned and strode toward the plaza, head held high. He always walked as if he were on his way to give a speech.
Instead of returning to her work, Esther took a detour to the broadcast tower perched atop the bridge. When she climbed through the hatch, a mousy-haired young man swung around in his chair and pulled a pair of headphones down off his ears. Neal was the Catalina’s radio operator and Esther’s oldest friend. He looked tired, and his rumpled T-shirt had a saltwater stain on it. He was unshaven but his beard was sparse. It wasn’t a good look.
“Hey, Es,” he said.
“How’s it going?”
Esther sat cross-legged on the floor. Neal’s Tower was messier than normal. Neal’s belongings, which were usually stacked by his cot in the corner, spread across the consoles lining the windows. His mobile of sports magazine cutouts had been pulled down from the ceiling and apparently tossed across the room. The expansive view from the windows showed the sky was still clear blue, but dark clouds had begun to amass on the far horizon.
“It’s going okay,” Neal said. “Getting the Amsterdam sorted out with their satellite connections.”
“Yeah?”
Neal and a team of communications officers on various ships had been working to regain contact with any satellites that were still operational in the earth’s orbit. The ash from the volcano had compromised most, but now that the air had cleared they’d found a handful of units in relatively good shape. They’d been bouncing signals off them to try to reach other survivors and access map and weather data.
“They’ve got a glitch in their dish’s programming,” Neal said. “I’m going to try to find it when we get there, if we can’t figure it out by then.”
“Good luck.”
“Should be pretty straightforward. The Amsterdam will be a key reference point for the new satellite network. The more stable points we have, the more we can use the data we’re getting. Marian— They found another functioning satellite last week. We’re really filling in the blanks.”
“Nice,” Esther said. “But how are you doing? I take it you’re talking to her?”
A shadow crossed Neal’s face. Esther instantly regretted asking about the beautiful—and married—Marianna. She had elected not to come with Neal when he fled the Catalina. Her husband, Paris, had been killed in the escape from the Galaxy, but somehow Esther didn’t think that made Marianna and Neal’s relationship any more likely to progress.
“All business,” Neal said.
“And?” Esther prodded.
“And it sucks. I’m never going to meet another woman like her.” Neal blew a tuft of hair out of his eyes.
“Sure you will,” Esther said. “You can talk to all kinds of people when the network is complete, right? And it’ll be easier to visit other ships soon too, unless Dirk and Judith manage to isolate us again.”
“Oh yeah. How’d the meeting go?”
“It was okay. They left it up to me to decide.”
“The tides sure have turned,” Neal said.
“I’ll say.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” Esther said slowly. “I don’t agree with Judith and Dirk about keeping the tech to ourselves. That just seems wrong. But the whole idea of holding an auction or whatever David wants to do makes me nervous.”
“Maybe he’s going to take the idea and run,” Neal said. He had never been a big fan of David Hawthorne.
“I don’t think so. I mean, he doesn’t actually have the designs. He needs me to be a part of whatever transaction he arranges.”
“Do you trust him to make a good deal?”
“I guess so,” Esther said. “We do need more resources.”
“What happened to you guys working so well together?” Neal said. “I thought you’d—ya know—date or something.”
Esther sighed and slumped back on the floor. She stared up at the ceiling where the mobile had been.
“He was pretty straight about what he wanted before,” she said. “Now I’m not sure if he still feels . . . something. I’m not even sure what I feel for him.”
She thought about David’s hands on her shoulders, the way he had looked so proud. The way he brushed her cheek with his fingers.
“You guys did hook up, right?” Neal said.
“Yeah, but nothing’s happened since.”
She had thought it would. She had thought he’d invite her back to his cabin, like he had months ago on the Galaxy Flotilla, or that he’d at least clarify where they stood. They had made a connection, and she didn’t believe it would just be for that one night.
“Men are scum,” Neal said.
Esther laughed and sat up to kick the toe of Neal’s bowling shoe.
“Think so?”
“Y
eah, women too,” Neal said, sighing heavily. “Romance sucks.”
“You’ll find someone else,” Esther said. “How about Anita? She actually talks sometimes now.”
“I don’t know.” Neal blushed a little. “Isn’t she leaving with Toni and Zoe when we get to the Amsterdam?”
“Yeah,” Esther said. “They want to join a more exciting crew. If Hawthorne goes too, things will be almost back to normal. Just you and me again.”
“I don’t know, Es,” Neal said. “It wouldn’t shock me if you end up going off on another adventure after all.”
“He asked me to go with him on the Lucinda to search for land,” Esther said after a pause. “Offered me the mechanic job or first mate. Actually, that’s the last time he really showed interest in me—apart from my technology, I mean.”
“Well, that’s something. Maybe he’s waiting for you to come to him this time,” Neal said. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you haven’t exactly been encouraging him by hiding out in the bowling alley.”
Esther scrubbed a hand through her hair. Neal could be right. David had just mentioned dinner, and she’d told him how much work she had to do instead of suggesting that they eat together. Or walk on the deck together. Or something. She didn’t think she’d imagined the way he was leaning toward her a few minutes ago. When they first returned to the Catalina, she’d been confused about what had happened between them, then busy with her work. Now she was nervous about how to proceed, and the uncertainty was agonizing. What if he wasn’t interested? He was also planning to leave, to take the Lucinda on an expedition to the coast. She couldn’t forget that.
She pushed the feelings away. She didn’t need this kind of drama right now. She had to focus on the task at hand: doing what was best for the Catalina.
“He’s right about the trading,” she said, feeling suddenly clearheaded. “The Catalina needs more than fuel. I’m going to tell him he can try to sell my technology.”
“Whatever you think, Es,” Neal said, swiveling back to his console. “Just be careful.”
“I always am.” Esther stood and began climbing down through the hatch.
“Oh, and Neal, you’ve got to shave,” she said, popping her head back into the tower. “That beard makes you look like a sea cucumber.”
Chapter 5—Games
A GAME WAS BEING played in the plaza when Esther arrived. It was a cavernous space in the center of the ship surrounded by three levels of shops. Some were used for storage, while others had become workspaces. Light filtered down through the skylight onto a group of children sitting in a circle on the threadbare carpet. To Esther’s surprise, David sat in their midst.
They were tossing a limp rubber ball between them. Whenever one of the kids caught the ball, they called out the name of a sea creature. A girl wearing a “Catalina: Your Island at Sea” T-shirt that came to her knees had the ball when Esther stopped on the staircase to watch them.
“Crab!” the little girl squealed, and passed the ball to a boy with overlarge glasses.
“Dolphin!” he said, and threw it to the girl across from him.
“Eel!”
“Fish!”
“Wrong!” yelled the first girl. “Izzy already said that one last round!”
The kids dissolved into giggles. The boy who had said “fish” looked like he might cry. Lip trembling, he stared down at the ball in his hands.
“It’s okay, buddy,” David said, leaning toward the boy. “You get to start the next round.”
“I don’t know any g creatures,” the boy wailed.
David smiled, and Esther was struck by how frank and kind his face looked in that moment. It was rare to see him so relaxed. She wasn’t sure he had made any real friends on the Catalina. The Galaxians remembered his former position all too well, and the Catalinans didn’t trust him. Yet now he was sitting on the floor playing with the kids. It was official: Esther didn’t understand him at all.
“How about gull or gurnard?”
“What’s that?” the little boy asked.
“It’s a fish that walks along the bottom of the sea on its fins.” David walked his fingers along the floor toward the boy. “It’s always looking for some shrimp to eat.” He grabbed the boy’s bare toe, and the child giggled and squealed, his tears forgotten.
“Okay, gurnard!” he said.
Another little boy, wearing a pair of orange bowling shoes, snuck up behind David then and stole his glasses. He ran up the grand staircase with them, cackling wildly. David just laughed and leapt up to chase him. He stumbled toward the stairs, apparently not able to see all that well without his glasses. Several of the kids jumped up and grabbed onto his arms. He swung them forward, making them laugh and shriek.
Esther plucked David’s glasses out of the little boy’s hands as he darted past her and brought them down the stairs.
David stopped when Esther was close enough for him to recognize her, and for a moment his face was open and vulnerable. He smiled, and it felt like the Catalina had lurched sideways.
David disentangled himself from the kids and retrieved the ball from his young friend. He offered it to Esther.
“Do you want to play? I bet you can name sea creatures like a champ.”
“You can have your way,” Esther blurted out. Smooth, Esther. “You can try to sell my design.”
David blinked. He looked down at the ball he was still holding out and drew it back.
“That was quick,” he said.
“No point in agonizing over it,” Esther said. “I just want to get this over with.”
David straightened, and suddenly he was back to his usual sophisticated self. “This is the right decision, Esther. I knew you’d see things my way.”
Something about his tone bothered her. He didn’t seem surprised that she had agreed to do what he wanted.
“Right,” she said. “Well, I’d better get back to work.”
She handed over the glasses and left him standing in the plaza, the ball still in his hand. She had just given him what he wanted, so why did he look disappointed somehow? He turned and tossed the ball back to the kids.
It was only after Esther was back amongst her diagrams and tools that she remembered what Neal had said: Don’t take this the wrong way, but you haven’t exactly been encouraging him by hiding out in the bowling alley. She had a feeling that she’d somehow missed an opportunity just now.
Chapter 6—The Engine Test
ESTHER DIDN’T SLEEP AT all the night before the trip to the Amsterdam Coalition. Ordinarily, the crew would dump the last of the crude oil into the refinery in preparation for the journey. Instead, Esther stayed up all night, preparing to fire up the completed biofuel system for the first time. It had taken a week of double shifts to finish hooking up the big separator and refinery to the main engines. She was still a little worried the biofuel wouldn’t work as well in the big engines as it did in the smaller motors she had tested so far. It was the moment of truth.
Esther had invited David to the engine room to see the system in action so he’d know what he was talking about at the Amsterdam. She couldn’t help thinking about what he had said when she decided to do things his way, how he hadn’t been surprised.
This is the right decision, Esther. I knew you’d see things my way.
He was definitely confident. With the prospect of negotiating a trade, he was back in his element, more so than he had been for a while. She wanted to see something that showed he wasn’t only out for himself. Was he really just manipulating her so that he could do what he wanted with her invention? He had said himself that everyone would want it. Maybe that “everyone” included the Galaxy captains. He could be using her idea to get his old job back. Even Boris would accept that trade.
She still couldn’t bring herself to say anything about whatever was between them, yet she felt nervous knowing he would be coming to the engine room soon. She hadn’t seen much of him lately because she’d been working overtime to get every
thing ready. It was much simpler than trying to figure out her feelings.
She tightened up one final bolt and crawled out from underneath the machine. It was bigger than a lifeboat, and they’d had to move the other machinery around to make space for it. Esther’s trousers were smudged with oil, and the algae had stained her hands green.
Reggie had rounded up a big group to help her with the final stages of assembly. The crew usually spent most of their time fishing, harvesting seaweed, and maintaining the ship. Now they gathered around the engine room, both on the main floor and the catwalk, to see the final test. It looked like the galley crew was here as well, and a handful of curious Galaxians. Esther spotted Adele from Guest Services and Byron the water taxi driver turned quartermaster. Her father was here too. This had better work.
David arrived in his usual whirl of elegance. The man who had sat on the floor playing ball with a group of kids was nowhere to be seen. He sailed down the steps from the catwalk and joined her on the bottom level.
“All set, Esther?”
“I think so,” she said. “These guys are going to be pretty disappointed if I end up having to go back to the drawing board now. Reggie has been talking me up.”
David surveyed the crowd gathering on the catwalk. “I might have had a hand in that too.” He waved at some machinery. “Now this part looks quite intricate. Well done.”
“Actually, that’s the pump. It was here before. This is the separator.” Esther tugged on David’s arm to turn him in the right direction. He met her eyes, and heat swept through her body. She dropped her hand.
“Looks great,” David said. “Can you make one for the Lucinda next?”
“That’s the plan. Next time should be easier. I can make it smaller too, so it won’t weigh her down too much.”
“You’re brilliant, Esther, you know that?” David said.
She looked down at the green stains on her hands. “I—”
“Have you given any thought to joining the Lucinda for our land voyage? I’ve got a crew mostly picked out. We’ll be moving onto her for the journey to the Amsterdam so we can work through any issues. There’s a spot available.”
