Empaths (Pyreans Book 1)

by S. H. Jucha

  “We sent the commandant every file we discovered,” Lise said, in a huff.

  “Commandant, I’m sending the file codes of three documents. Please check what you received from the governor against these three codes, and let me know if you have them.”

  “What are the files about, Captain?”

  “Either you have them and can read them for yourself, or I’ll inform you later of their contents, Commandant. Right now, I wish to test if you received a full set of the original files that were looted from the Belle’s library. I happen to have discovered the ship’s log of all files that the library contained, and it appears that hundreds of files are missing. For now, I’m asking you to check on these three rather critical files.”

  Lise Panoy’s next words were cut off by Harbour closing her comm.

  Jessie stared at Harbour, surprise on his face. She wasn’t the same woman he’d secretly met with on the station, who wouldn’t risk her empaths and residents by hiding Aurelia.

  “Sorry, Captain, my patience with this duplicitous pair is fast running out,” Harbour said, reacting to Jessie’s emotional misgivings. “Now, shall we take a small tour? And I hope you’ll stay for dinner. Some of my people would like to give you a taste of what we’re prepared to serve your crews.”

  “Fresh foods?” Jessie asked.

  “For the most part, Captain. Shall we go?”

  * * *

  “I assume you’ll send me those three file codes, Commandant,” Lise said. She was trying desperately to regain control of her temper. In her mind, she was throttling Harbour and completing the job that Corporal McKenzie failed to execute. Conveniently, her daydream didn’t involve Harbour possessing empath power.

  “I’m puzzled, Lise. If you discovered these original files by accident and turned them over to me, why would you want to know about the files that Harbour’s checking on?”

  “I don’t pay you to be puzzled, Emerson. Send those codes when you receive them.”

  Emerson was staring at the codes on his comm unit and was busy searching for the first one. The files that Lise sent were being kept in a protected area, available only to Major Finian, the head of network security, and him. The search came up empty.

  “Why do I have the feeling, Lise, that this is a repeat of the Aurelia case on your part? You keep me in the dark until circumstances force you to reveal more information.”

  “That’s not my intent here, Emerson,” Lise said, adopting a much more civil tone. Harbour’s rudeness to her had colored her handling of Emerson, and she was regretting it.

  “I’ll tell you what’s my intent, Lise. When I receive the file codes, I’ll search the database for them, and then you and I can have another discussion about what is or isn’t there. Good day, Lise,” Emerson said, cutting the connection.

  Lise swore up and down, as she stomped around her parlor. Rufus and Idrian, sitting on a couch, glanced at each other. Usually, Lise was the cool one of the group, but she was rivaling one of Pyre’s geological eruptions.

  “There is the possibility that Harbour is playing us, Lise,” Idrian said, when Lise cooled down enough to stand still and stare out her window at the beautifully manicured grounds behind her home. “She might only have the log and picked out three file codes at random.”

  “For what reason?” Rufus asked. “She knows which original files were taken. It was the colony ship’s protocol that copies could be made, but the original library was to remain intact. Did you hear the word she used during the conversation? She said looted.”

  “She isn’t playing us. It isn’t Harbour’s style,” Lise said, turning from the window. “I’ve known the woman for years. Before now, she would never be so rude as to cut me off in mid-sentence. No, something’s changed. Let me rephrase that … a great deal has changed. The question is what.”

  -36-

  Dinner

  “Hungry?” Harbour asked Jessie.

  “After visiting the ship’s hydroponics, I wouldn’t miss the opportunity,” Jessie replied, and Harbour detected his genuine enthusiasm.

  They ended up taking a longer tour than she expected, but Jessie was intrigued by the vastness of the ship and its capabilities. Harbour had called on the help of Pete Jennings, one of her senior engineers, to answer many of Jessie’s questions. The two men had walked and talked, while Jessie inspected the colony ship’s main engines, environmental systems, hydroponic gardens, and many other infrastructure components.

  Harbour admitted that before her election as captain, she would have been bored to tears, listening to the subjects discussed by Jessie and Pete. Not now. She paid close attention to the questions Jessie asked. In many regards, Jessie started with general questions that she might have asked, but then the men quickly delved into technological observations that lost her. Nonetheless, she made notes to follow-up on various subjects, much of which could be found in the ship’s library. Apparently, the families who made their way downside saw no need to steal manuals on the specifications and maintenance of the ship’s internal systems.

  Harbour sent a quick message to Yasmin and Nadine, who said they were ready to serve food in the captain’s quarters, and Harbour and Jessie made their way from deep at the aft end of the ship to the upper deck and forward to the bridge.

  Jessie opened the door of the captain’s quarters for Harbour with a polite, “Captain.”

  “Thank you, Captain.” Harbour said, smiling. But inside the main salon, she stuttered to a stop, saying, “Uh-oh.”

  Yasmin and Nadine stood on either side of a table, which, a few hours ago, was bare. Now, it was covered in a decorative cloth. Plates, glasses, and tableware Harbour had never seen were tastefully laid out. A small, colorfully leafed plant was the centerpiece, and the two women were unabashedly grinning.

  Jessie stood with a hand over his mouth. He wanted to laugh, but Harbour appeared to be thunderstruck, and he could feel her power leaking from her, as evidenced by the smiles fading from the women’s faces.

  “Absolutely delightful,” Jessie crowed, hoping to shift the dynamics of the moment. “I get to taste fresh food in this charming environment. I can’t wait.” He quickly stepped to a chair, pulled it back, and swung an arm at it in a graceful gesture, saying, “Captain, your chair awaits.”

  Harbour was completely flustered. She was trying to evince a level of command, as the captain of the Belle, and Yasmin and Nadine had taken it into their heads to treat her as a woman enjoying a dinner date with a man. Worse, Jessie seemed to be electing to take their side. But it was discerning the crashing emotions of her friends, who were dismayed at her reaction, that made Harbour regret failing to appreciate their efforts. That’s not how a captain behaves, Harbour thought.

  “My apologies, friends,” Harbour said, and she wrapped her words in the emotion she felt.

  Both Nadine and Yasmin tipped their heads in acknowledgment and immediately bustled about with their preparations, while Harbour took the seat Jessie offered.

  As Jessie crossed to the other side of the table, it occurred to him that empath sensitivity allowed communication on a second level, which augmented their spoken words and did much to eliminate the possibility of misunderstandings and preventing outright lies.

  The women poured water and served small salads. Jessie took one look at the plate, and said incredulously, “Strawberries? You’re serving me strawberries?”

  “Are you allergic to them, Captain?” Nadine asked, with concern.

  “No, they are usually too expensive aboard the JOS to enjoy. I don’t remember seeing them on the tour,” Jessie said, directing his last statement at Harbour.

  “You only visited the one hydroponic garden, Captain. It’s one of the smaller ones. There are two more of similar size, and three much larger ones.”

  Jessie shook his head at the incredible size of the colony ship. After several hours of touring, he hadn’t begun to grasp its immense space.

  Noticing Jessie was sorting through his salad, ex
amining the bits and pieces, Yasmin explained, “The bed is spinach, Captain. The shavings you see are a bean plant that resembles the taste of almonds, and those are halved cherry tomatoes. The dressing is our own concoction made from many species of plants grown in the hydroponics. I hope you enjoy it.”

  Jessie stopped playing with his salad and dove into it. The three women hid their smiles, as Jessie made small appreciative sounds while he munched his way through to the last piece.

  “I have to tell you,” Jessie announced to the women, wiping his mouth, “if I was in the privacy of my cabin, I would be licking the plate by now.”

  Dinner proceeded to delight Jessie, and Harbour relaxed into the sensations from his enjoyment. When Nadine cleared the dessert plates, which had displayed collections of fresh berries covered in a concoction that cleverly imitated whipped cream, Yasmin held a bottle up and said, “Brandy, anyone?”

  Jessie’s head swiveled from the ancient-looking bottle with its amber liquid to Harbour and back to the bottle.

  “You two have some explaining to do,” Harbour said evenly.

  “You had Dingles searching for something specific for you, Captain,” Nadine explained, enigmatically. “And apparently, he’s quite knowledgeable about the ways of captains, because he discovered what you might call a private larder behind a concealed panel. There’s an extensive collection of items like this.”

  “It’s been back there for what … five hundred years … trip time plus our time in this system?” Jessie replied. “It’s probably gone bad.

  Harbour picked up the flash of emotion from her two friends, and her tentative smile morphed into a grin, which she directed at Jessie. “I believe you’ll find the brandy more than adequate. If I’m not mistaken, these two individuals put their health on the line to test taste it … for the sake of our safety, mind you.”

  Jessie regarded Yasmin and Nadine, who blushed at his quiet stare. “Quite commendable of you,” he allowed. “Well, now that we know it’s safe, we might as well try it too.”

  Immediately, Nadine whisked out two delicate glasses that she’d concealed behind her back. “There’s an entire collection of serving things like this back there too, Captain.”

  Yasmin poured the brandy and both women stood by, expectantly.

  “Well done, my friends. Thank you for the lovely dinner,” Harbour said. “I’ll let you get to your beds.”

  Yasmin took a breath to object, but she caught Nadine’s shake of her head.

  “Certainly, Captain,” Yasmin allowed graciously, and deposited the brandy bottle on the table. Then Nadine and she quietly left the cabin.

  “Brandy,” Jessie said, chuckling. He picked up the cut crystal glass, marveling at the light playing through it, and the deep amber color of the liquid.

  Harbour inhaled hers and enjoyed the aroma. “A toast, Jessie,” she said, holding up her glass. “To surviving the quarantine in style.”

  “And here I was being grateful to have some frozen meals delivered. My crews are going to fall in love with the Belle. I hope they don’t start jumping ship to crew for you, Captain.”

  Harbour quirked an eyebrow at Jessie, who, after a moment of thought, realized his mistake.

  “To surviving in style, Harbour,” Jessie said, clinking his glass against hers.

  After some appreciative sips of the brandy, Jessie, who had been observing how bare the salon appeared, except for furniture, said, “May I make a suggestion, Harbour?”

  “Certainly, Jessie.”

  “You should move in here. Appearances for a captain are everything. Your people, crew, empaths, and residents, want to feel their captain is in firm control of their destiny. They expect you to be here. It demonstrates you know your place as their leader.”

  “I’ll take it under advisement, Jessie. Thank you.”

  Jessie nodded and finished his brandy. Their glasses were, after all, not only delicate but small. Without a word, Harbour picked up the bottle and refilled his glass.

  “What was the conversation you had about missing files when you spoke to … what did Birdie call them … their majesties?”

  Harbour smiled and nodded, while she refilled her glass. During the next half hour, she brought Jessie up to date about the mysterious disappearance of the ship’s library files, including the discovery by Dingles of the library log and copies of the missing files found in the first mate’s cabin.

  “I see. You were testing Lise Panoy to see if she turned over everything to Emerson,” Jessie said, when Harbour finished her summary.

  Harbour couldn’t tell if it was the gleam in Jessie’s eyes or the brandy that was exciting her. Probably both, she thought.

  “Well done, Harbour,” Jessie said, hoisting his glass, and Harbour felt a warm thrill work up from deep inside. It surprised her that she wanted Jessie’s approval that much. “Don’t keep me hanging, Harbour. I’m sure you’ve read the three files you’re asking about. What’s in them?”

  Harbour set her glass down, thinking she’d consumed more than she should, and picked up her comm unit. After a few taps, she said, “There. You have copies too. It’s best you read them for yourself.”

  Jessie checked his comm unit to ensure he’d received the documents and a yawn escaped his mouth. “Well, I hate to eat and run,” he said, which received a polite chuckle from Harbour, considering dinner and their subsequent conversation had lasted more than three hours.

  Harbour checked her crew log. There were four spacers on duty, and she contacted the first one on the list.

  “Good evening, Captain,” Birdie replied.

  “You had day shift, Birdie. Why are you still on duty?”

  “I slept too much the last bunch of years, Captain. I’m trying to make up for it.”

  “Pace yourself, Birdie,” Harbour replied sternly.

  “Aye, Captain. It won’t happen again.”

  “What’s the disposition of Captain Cinders’ crew?”

  “They’ve turned in for the night, Captain, and Ituau of the Spryte was notified. Dingles ordered a cabin prepared for Captain Cinders, and I can escort him there when he’s ready.”

  “Since I’ve already had to lift the captain’s face out of his plate to wake him, I think he’s ready.”

  There was the slightest pause before Birdie replied, “Coming on the double, Captain.”

  “I think that poor, wizened woman is wondering if she’s got to carry me to my cabin,” Cinders said, chuckling. He rose and extended his hand, which Harbour took. “It’s been a relaxing dinner, the likes of which I can’t remember having, present company included.”

  Harbour thought Jessie might have said more, but a quick tap at the door caused him to drop her hand and Harbour called out, “Enter.”

  It was evident from the relief on Birdie’s face that she found Jessie alert and standing. The captains curtailed their grins, as they glanced at each other.

  “When you’re ready, Captain Cinders,” Birdie said.

  “Lead on, Birdie,” Jessie replied.

  Jessie left without looking back, and Harbour turned to regard the table and the room. Dingles had urged her to move into the captain’s quarters too, but she’d been reluctant, feeling she didn’t deserve the extravagant quarters. “Appearances,” she muttered to herself, turned out the lights, and closed the door behind her, as she left to return to her cabin.

  In a short time, Jessie was lost. Birdie took so many twists and turns, he had no idea how to get to the bridge or the bay. So, he gave up trying to track their course and kept a tight hold on his comm unit. If worse came to worse, he could call for help.

  The quarters Jessie was shown were comfortable, if small. The tiny kitchenette was stocked with drinks, but no food. He took a quick shower, made himself a hot drink, sat in a chair, and opened his comm unit. Curiosity demanded satisfaction, and he was dying to know what was in the three documents Harbour sent him.

  Hours later, Jessie closed his device. He was stunned by the rev
elations. The room had taken on a chill, and he was tired. He glanced at the time, winced, and set a wakeup call for midmorning. Then, he crawled into the bed and was soon fast asleep.

  * * *

  In the morning, Jessie dressed and exited his cabin, determined to test his ability to find his way to the bridge. He passed a few people, residents not spacers, said good morning, and kept moving. Jessie was about to call it quits when he heard a familiar voice.

  “Good morning, Captain,” Aurelia said brightly, when she spotted Jessie.

  “Morning, Aurelia and Sasha,” Jessie replied.

  “Sasha, you’re staring at the captain,” Aurelia reprimanded.

  “Why not? His emotional state is most confusing,” Sasha replied, continuing to fixate on Jessie’s head. “There’s so many pieces all mixed up in there. Why’s that, Captain Cinders?”

  “That’s because I worry about all the little people, like you,” Jessie replied.

  Rather than feel insulted, Sasha grinned. Contrary to Jessie’s words and the tone of his voice, she hadn’t felt any animosity from him.

  When Jessie glanced the way Aurelia had come, she intuited what he needed from his brief instance of discomposure. “I was about to tell Sasha that we needed to end my tour for now and head back to the bridge, if you’re going that way, Captain?”

  “Happy to accompany the two of you,” Jessie replied, with not a little bit of relief, which both girls discerned.

  As the three of them headed back the way the empaths had come, Sasha hooked her arm into Jessie’s.

  “Sasha,” Aurelia cautioned.

  “What?” Sasha replied. “The captain doesn’t mind if I study him, do you, Captain?”

  “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m extremely grateful that of the two sisters, it was Aurelia who hid on my ship.”

  Jessie was frowning at Sasha, but the sisters were grinning at each other.

  The threesome wound around the ship, guided by Sasha, until Jessie entered familiar territory. Then he eased out of Sasha’s grip and hurried ahead. “You’re on your own, spacer,” he called back, as he disappeared around the corner.