by Scott Rhine
She bent over the back of the sofa. “Take me.”
Except maybe that. He looked at her perfect body and ached with anticipation. Only one thought stopped him. “In your office, you knew all about Posy without typing any queries.”
“Shh. No more talking.”
That witch was setting him up somehow! He wasn’t going to fall for it. Maybe a little just to teach her a lesson. I don’t have to go all the way. Then his badge chimed. “I have to take this … in the next room. You can help yourself to the food.”
Reuben stepped out into the hall and tapped his badge. “Yes?” Save me. Give me a reason not to go back in there.
Majoram said, “Pardon me. I don’t want to disturb you, sir, but Blythe is terrified.”
“What of?” He was already jogging toward the lift.
“She’s been reading magazines today, and the words are getting harder. The staff ordered another IQ test tomorrow to compare. The nurse thinks she might be relapsing without you.” The girl had tested at two points below average for a Goat female for her age. Sliding back thirty points would be horrendous to someone who could watch it happen hour by hour.
“I don’t think that’s likely. I’m sure she’s fine, but I’ll give her a little nudge before bed, just enough to help her sleep.”
“That would be wonderful, sir. We can’t thank you enough.” The aunt disconnected.
Riding in the elevator, Reuben decided that this was how he would want public service to feel, not being manipulated by intelligence agencies into becoming an addict.
Walking through the main corridor, he called Roz. She sounded sleepy, so he apologized. “You’re the only one everyone aboard will listen to for a humanitarian cause.” He described Blythe’s plight and the family’s willingness to pay the fare to Shangri-La.
“You’re using your ability to save a life,” Roz replied. “Of course we’ll help. Llewellyn sent us back our stasis unit so we’ll have enough.”
“Yeah. About that. I forgot to mention. I’m doing some favors so Ivy’s sister Daisy will accompany us to the Convocation.”
“Are you sleeping with her already?”
Reuben covered the badge and inserted his earbud for privacy. “No. I wouldn’t do that.” Okay, maybe I would, but only if she gained a few pounds first so I could pretend she was Ivy. I’m a horrible person. “We need her to … work the radio.”
“What’s going on here?” Roz demanded.
He stepped into an alcove with a potted plant. “I need Daisy to learn what happened to Ivy. Don’t you want to know?”
“And Blythe?”
He sighed. “It’s not sex. Now that they suspect my talents, people are pulling me in all different directions. Blythe is the only one whose motives I know and trust. She thinks I’m decent. It’s strange, but having her around gives me a rudder.”
“That’s not strange at all. Ellison out.”
Chapter 15 – Next You Do It for a Few Friends
A week later, Max found Reuben napping in the hammock in the jungle biozone. “Hiding?”
Reuben grunted, not wanting to be reminded. “The little bonus boost I gave Blythe made me unable to perform experiments the next day. The doctors were upset at me, so I have to wear latex gloves to avoid unintentional skin contact. They don’t want anyone draining my virtue.”
Max snickered until Reuben showed him the thin, racing gloves he now carried in his pockets. “Echo sent these to me.”
“Speaking of virtue, what happened between you and that hot receptionist you were bragging about?”
“Nothing. She was so pissed about my refusal that she trashed my hotel room. The concierge asked me not to come back. Everyone at the station thinks I slept with Fifi and didn’t call her back. So Majoram is suspicious about the rumors. MI-23 has sent me about a hundred messages, each a little more hostile. Posy … hell, Posy will never be happy. I’m sorry. I lost count. How many people are hacked off at me?”
“Everyone but the people on this ship.”
Reuben decided not to mention Echo’s grudge. “How’s the engine rebalancing going?”
“Roz lives for that stuff. Don’t worry. You had more important things to do. Menelaus has been scrubbing the halls clean of the fire damage. That whole area had to be gutted. Roz will start the rewiring of the beam turret tomorrow.”
“Crap. That’s my responsibility, too.”
Max shook his head. “People first. What happened with the amnesia victim?”
“Oh, yeah, no-name chick. The cops wanted to question her in a missing person’s case. I didn’t do her any favors.”
“Did she remember?”
“Sure. Gave me a nosebleed that lasted four hours followed by two days of headaches, but she made a breakthrough—just enough for her to recall she was driving the boat in the accident that resulted in the death of her husband. The brain protects itself for a reason.”
“Ouch.”
“She just kept screaming, ‘I killed him.’ The cops posted a guard on her until they can find the body and examine it. They don’t need one because the doctors had to sedate her so much.”
Max sat on a nearby rock. “That’s when you got so wasted that you passed out in the public restroom.”
“Yeah. Someone took advantage of that lapse to write ‘pervert’ on my forehead. I may have grabbed no-name’s ass to speed up the boost. I think some of the Humans dislike my process. Personally, I would’ve gone with ‘loser.’”
Max smirked. “Or gigolo. First you boost for a love and then for a few friends. Next thing you know, you’re standing on a street corner selling it to strangers.”
“Really? Is that how killing started for you?”
The smile vanished. “Hey, you want me to bust your ass about stealing all my tranquilizer darts?”
Oops. “Sorry. Did they send back the gun?”
“The request is still going through channels. All I have left are the paralytic darts, and they’re a thousand credits a pop.”
“I’ll pay you back, bro. You’re not the one I’m sore at. Forgive me.”
Max tried to recapture the easy banter. “Was day six any better?”
“Ivy’s great-grandma? She was a tough nut. Took me twelve hours to coax her to coherency. Then you know want happened? She rattled off a few secrets to the spooks, said good-bye to her family—”
“That’s positive.”
“And then offed herself. The old lady wanted to die lucid so she could join her ancestors and be of service. Her neurons were already decaying. I couldn’t keep her stable long.”
Max clapped him on the shoulder. “You did what you could.”
“These people were better off as permanent residents of the vegetable patch!” Reuben climbed out of his hammock. “The doctors hospitalized me for three days after that. I swear Posy paid them to put sand on my catheter.”
“But Blythe came out all right.”
Reuben wandered toward the airlock to the crew quarters. “Eh. As hard as I push, she’ll never be above average. She’ll never achieve her dream of becoming a vet. Her best scenario is enough exposure to me that she stays mediocre. What kind of life is that?”
Max cleared his throat. “Any kind she chooses. You made that possible. By the way, Blythe stayed beside your bed the whole time you were admitted. When we visited, she couldn’t stop talking about you. Anyone who listens to her will be convinced you’re a hero.”
“What do you think?”
“This morning, you did your magic on that woman with chronic headaches.”
Reuben wandered to the bathroom. “I didn’t cure the symptoms. I just made her smart enough to put the puzzle pieces together for herself. Her disorder will always be there.”
Max followed but stayed in the sink room. “Right. But now doctors know what to look for. They named the syndrome after you.”
“Thrashing wonderful. Xerxes has sex moves and drug cocktails named after him. I get a headache. How great is that?”
After finishing, Reuben washed his hands.
“A legacy to be proud of.” Max extended his hand for shaking.
Rueben accepted the offer. “Well, I can’t make a career of it. They banned me from Human hospitals.”
“I’m a doctor. I read your file. Your eyes have petechial hemorrhaging—pinpoints of blood normally caused by someone choking.”
“Great! Do I need to wear sunglasses?” Reuben asked.
Max shrugged. “Point is that your gift is clearly meant to be shared with your own people. You shouldn’t link with Humans anymore.”
“At least not Humans with Magi genes,” Reuben said.
Max jerked a thumb at the mirror. “Wouldn’t hurt for you to mow your face. Some dignitary will be visiting us later today to examine the ecological samples from Niisham and discuss the botched terraforming. I bribed them with a piece of art to get my gun back sooner. They want to make an offer on the rest of the collection.”
Reluctantly, Reuben shaved. “I’ll never be with Ivy again, or anyone who looks like her.”
“About that ...”
“Is that why you came after me? Are the partners afraid I’ll drink again? I didn’t. Everything I have is prescription.” Reuben pulled on a clean shirt, but even sober, he looked like forty kilometers of bad road.
“No. Herb wanted to thank you.”
“What for?”
“My old associate Churchill Llewellyn grew up to be CEO here. His people didn’t have any Magi stasis units, so he bought out Alyssa’s piece of the partnership to free up a couple spaces.”
Reuben said, “Having Daisy on the ship makes me nervous, but two votes for his corporation is dangerous. Why would Alyssa agree to that?”
“Llewellyn is mortgaging the spot to a pilot who can pay him back out of the profits. Without assistance, Roz is going to burn herself out before we reach the Convocation. Besides, the clinic agreed to provide Herb’s life-extension treatments because you went above and beyond. They’ll extend Alyssa, too. If the Greenbergs are lucky, they’ll have another twenty years together.”
Reuben whistled. “That’s a chunk of change for her. How did she meet the service-to-mankind requirement? Anodyne doesn’t waive that.”
“She agreed to give them genetic samples so they can learn more about the Probability Mechanics talent.”
“Why do you sound so depressed about all this?” Reuben asked.
“Roz’s folks are staying on Laurelin Station.”
Reuben jogged to the kitchen, where Roz was talking to the Greenbergs in their aprons. “You guys are abandoning us? Roz, you’re okay with this?”
“My folks are safer here. No missiles.”
As Alyssa handed Reuben his favorite coffee, he said, “But you all were just getting to know each other.”
Alyssa started crying, which triggered Roz’s waterworks.
Herb said, “You’re a good man, Reuben. Never forget that. Help the jarhead take care out our daughter, would you?” The old guy had never used the word stepdaughter. He felt that close to Roz.
“You know it, sir.” Everyone hugged at some point.
Kesh joined them in the dining hall but refrained from mammalian embraces.
Reuben said, “I’ve been counting on Herb to cover my back from the Bankers.”
“Their agents aren’t normally assassins,” Herb replied. “The vast majority of us collect harmless shipping data, prices, and information that could affect commodity futures. Bankers are about making money.”
“How do the bank employees recognize agents?”
Switching to English, Herb whispered in his ear, “I was issued a ring with a special gemstone. When the clerks hit an agent’s stone with a laser, a serial number beginning with the letter A appears.”
“Thank you.”
Max said, “To keep up appearances, we’ll leave the Laurelin system by the normal jump point. Even with the extra delays, I still figure we saved five weeks off our original plan.”
Reuben asked, “How much does Llewellyn know about this ship?”
Roz replied, “Very little about the subbasement drive, only that it’s faster than normal. Ivy was knocked out before the first use. In about four months since they lost contact with her, when we should have only been able to fly 20 parsecs, we traveled 37.5. Less than double the distance. Not shabby, but nowhere near our true capabilities.”
“Daisy may try to pump us for information,” Max said. “Do you think we can stonewall her for the rest of the trip?”
Everyone looked to Reuben. “What? I’m the weak link? I don’t go for skinny women, and I don’t know anything about the drive system.”
Herb muttered something about women with a pulse being sufficient.
“What was that?” Reuben demanded, raising his voice.
“I said, ‘How long until Blythe can get up and around?’ We’re excited to meet her.”
“Um … the hospital doesn’t want to release her until she can walk on her own. At the current rate, she could be another week,” Reuben said, sinking to a whisper.
Roz shrugged. “It’s okay. We can use the time to finish repairing and reengineering the wiring. It’s safer at the dock, and we’ll have better access to replacement parts. You need to find the ship a new alias. Menelaus can talk to the terraforming folks about his world’s problems. We’ll still be four weeks ahead of schedule. I can even assign Daisy to Blythe’s stateroom to make her transition easier. Since Posy is a nurse, she could use her mind link to assist the ongoing physical therapy.”
Suspicious, Reuben narrowed his eyes. “Why are you being so agreeable?”
Max cleared his throat. “She wants a revote on Jeeves’s forced stasis.”
“Food stasis terrifies him because it reminds him of the Saurian hunt,” Roz insisted. “Beside, if his species is protosentient, suspending him against his will is kidnapping. I think that’s why Yenang really turned against us. We need to add a bylaw to our corporate charter forbidding that abuse.”
“What’s the rush?” asked Reuben. Then he remembered a certain rustling in the bushes as he lounged on the hammock. “You already freed her.”
“The minute Echo sequestered herself,” Max said. “With only five votes awake before the newbies come in tomorrow, Roz is hoping to steal the election. Her mom already voted for the ban. Kesh and I abstained. That leaves the decision up to you.”
“Freedom but no interaction,” Reuben decided. “I owe the little mimic, but I don’t dare mess with Union policies.”
Roz kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you.”
“That means he has to stay quarantined in the jungle, and we need to find someone to feed him who has as little tech knowledge as possible,” Reuben clarified.
Her face fell.
Feeling obligated to help her, Reuben said, “But if you happen to say good-bye to the little one, no one will know. When I scrub the history traces for the ship, I’ll get rid of any mention of the subbasement or mimics from the voice logs so no spies can reconstruct what we’re trying to hide from the Bankers.”
“Just to be sure,” Max said, “I think it would be a good idea to suspend privacy for the new visitors until we reach the Convocation. We should reserve the right to watch any interactions or communications they have in order to spot leaks sooner.”
Reuben sighed. We all know who he means there. Any Mata Hari would be coming after him. No sex this cruise unless he wanted the others watching. Giving in, he raised his hand. “All in favor?”
The motion passed unanimously.
“Who’s going to be the new cook?” Reuben asked in an attempt to change the subject.
Alyssa said, “Blythe thought she’d try. I’ve left her all my notes and recipes. With help and encouragement, she should do fine.”
Menelaus wandered in. “You are leaving due to one complaint? You are not destined to be in the food industry.”
“We’re switching out a few crew members,” Max explained. “Ivy is being rep
laced by her sister, and one of Reuben’s patients will take over for Alyssa. The new pilot used to work for the Goat Ambassador and can ease the diplomatic issues when we cross into Goat space.”
“What’s his name?” Reuben took a deep swig of hazelnut blend.
“She prefers to be called Fiona.”
Reuben sprayed the back wall with coffee.
Even Kesh laughed. “Being gay looks pretty good about now, doesn’t it?”
“What does your happy demeanor have to do with his difficulties?” asked the Bat.
Kesh explained the euphemism.
Menelaus still looked puzzled. “Your people allow this?”
Herb laughed. “No. That’s why we keep it a secret. He’s a great guy. I personally don’t care who he twines tails with.”
“So the legacy of the greatest Saurian general comes to nothing?” Menelaus asked. “Hmm. I like that. I will savor it in my hours of darkness when my enemies torture me.”
Reuben couldn’t think of any comeback. Repeated use of his talent had left him a little slow. He did, however, make plans to move to the officers’ deck to avoid the flood of new women. “I might even be outside inspecting the drives when the ladies come aboard tomorrow.”
“Coward,” Roz muttered.
“Hey, the first lesson the boss taught me was to run away when I’m outnumbered.”
Menelaus nodded. “Because we are all just bags of blood waiting to get ruptured?”
“No, man. Because I have no common sense when it comes to women, and it always ends up burning me.”
Chapter 16 – The Dignitary
After dinner, Roz vanished to spend time with her parents. Reuben accompanied Max to the cargo area containing everything that remained from Niisham. Together, they laid out the paintings and sculptures like a miniature museum. Reuben cobbled benches out of the crates for people to sit and admire the works, although the lighting was awful.
Twenty minutes before the schedule arrival time, Minder warned of attempted access at the cargo door. Roz had anti-tamper alarms everywhere on the ship. Max glanced at his wrist unit. “We should be flooded with men in black performing the advance recon.” He broadcast to everyone aboard, “I’m sealing off the rest of the ship along the route between the gangway and the meeting area. Even partners need audible permission to cross the quarantine. Arm yourselves and gather in the dining commons.”
