by K A Bledsoe
“Then, when we were found, and yes that is when not if, we would be trapped with no escape. At least in a ship we have mobility.”
“You mean you simply wanted your freedom at everyone else’s expense.”
“Quinn!” Diarmin couldn’t believe he had said that. Quinn looked remorseful for a heartbeat but then stubbornly set his chin and stared back.
Lenore opened her mouth to argue further but the pinging from the command console stopped him.
“Transition coming up,” said Diarmin. Everyone took their seats, but not without a few upset glances at each other. Not a word was said except those necessary to the procedure. When it was done, Diarmin tried to defuse the tension. “See, nobody following us.”
“This time,” grumbled Quinn. He locked down his board and headed down the ladder. Lenore started to follow him but Diarmin held her back. Not until she got her own temper under control. The silence as she fumed was unsettling. Allison’s soft voice cut through the tension.
“I like living on the ship,” she said.
Diarmin smiled at her and Lenore slowly walked to her, gently patted Allison’s shoulder, then left down the ladder.
“What was that all about, Dad?” asked Allison.
“I don’t know. I was hoping you would.”
“Quinn’s been moody, halfway between giddy and moping ever since…” she trailed off and bit her lip.
“Ever since what, Alli?”
“Well, ever since Kurla came on board. He likes her, you know.”
Diarmin’s eyebrows shot up but he brought them back down. He should have been first to notice that and thinking back to Quinn’s blushes and attitude, Diarmin knew his daughter was right.
“Thanks for waking me up to that fact, Alli. We will figure out how to handle all this.”
“I hope that doesn’t mean we are going to live on a planet.” She shuddered as she turned back to her console. “All those people, yuck.”
Diarmin smiled to himself, thinking she might feel different when she hit puberty like Quinn. Then he felt his forehead wrinkling. Was that all it was with Quinn? Hormones? It seemed to answer the question, but it still didn’t feel like the answer. Diarmin remembered the talk he had with Quinn when he was thirteen. It was clear he had been going through puberty then so why, when he was nearly sixteen, was he so angry? This girl? Kurla was really a young woman, though he thought of her as a girl.
“Can you hold down the bridge?”
“Sure, Dad.”
Diarmin vacated the command chair and offered it to Allison, but she waved it off and pulled up some work at her own station. So different from Quinn who was so eager to sit in the big seat.
He descended the ladder and walked down the hall, not sure if he should go talk to Lenore or Quinn. Since Quinn’s door was closed as he passed it, he figured he would talk to Lenore. Maybe she would have some insight to news of Quinn’s new crush.
***
Quinn lay back on the bed. Not his own but the one in the third guest room. When he approached his cabin, he realized he really didn’t want to have a big discussion and the first place his parents would look would be his cabin. He shut the door as if he were in there then headed through the lounge to the extra cabin. It was a little crowded with the treadmill and other excess stuff tossed in here to make room elsewhere, but it was also nice and quiet.
He covered his eyes with his arm. He wasn’t used to this kind of anger. Why did he seem to have a short fuse lately? Grimly he forced himself to face the fact that maybe it was still a reaction to his recent kidnapping. No. I was restless before that. It’s what led to me trying things on my own. Maybe if I had had more experience on planets, I could have avoided being taken. Reluctantly he admitted that it wasn’t true. It had been lack of experience with criminals, not planets. He took a long, slow breath in then let it out in a huge sigh.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know anyone was in here.”
Quinn sat up at the voice and found himself staring at Kurla.
“I…I just came in here to… to get away…”
Kurla nodded knowingly. “I get it. I’ve been in that mood many times, just needing to be alone. I was going to try the treadmill like you suggested but I will leave you in peace,” she said with a smile.
“No, no,” Quinn said as he stood. “I can go.” He stopped as she put a hand on his arm.
“I can exercise later. In fact,” her eyes searched his face as her head tilted. “It looks like you might need a friend more than you need to be alone. What’s wrong? Anything I can do?” She sat on the bed, hand still on his arm gently pulling him to sit next to her.
“It’s nothing really.”
“Now, I can tell you are upset. I have seen that look on my face in the mirror quite often.”
Quinn now looked directly at her, realizing that sitting like this they were eye to eye. He couldn’t believe that this self-assured woman was ever conflicted like he was, but he was encouraged. He wasn’t quite sure what to say. He couldn’t tell her the details about his family, but he had to say something.
“I guess I have been thinking about what you said earlier and that maybe I’m feeling like living on a ship is, well, kind of limiting. That I might like to live on a planet for a while.”
“So why don’t you?” she asked.
He was surprised by the question. Did she really not know how young he was? “I have duties here I can’t abandon.”
“I see.” She looked toward the wall and clasped her hands around one knee, leaning back slightly. “You can’t apply for a job on a planet? From what I saw the other night on the bridge, you know your way around computer systems.”
“Doesn’t everybody?”
Kurla laughed. It was very pleasant, and Quinn felt his lips stretch in a smile in response.
“Oh, no,” she said. “I myself don’t know one end of a computer from the other. I can use one only if it has voice access and even then, I can’t always get it to tell me what I want to know.”
“I suppose growing up on a farm with little technology doesn’t help you learn about computers.”
“Nope.” She turned back to him. “Why don’t you get off with me? New Drea is fairly large. The Order would be happy to speak for you. You can easily find a job or even go to school for some specialized training.”
“School?” His stomach had swooped when she suggested he go with her, but it twisted when she mentioned school. Maybe she did know he was too young.
“Sure. There are lots of advanced schooling choices. For computers, science, technology, business, whatever you want to learn. What would you like to do?”
“I don’t know. I have never thought about it.” He had of course, but that was working on his disguises and helping the family with missions. Before she had asked, Quinn hadn’t thought about any possibilities other than the family business.
“Well, think about it. We have, um, is it two days when we reach New Drea?”
“We reach the Reese system in two days and yours about thirty-six hours after that.”
“So over three days to think about it. Maybe I will try to talk to the High Priest and see if he has any more suggestions.”
“Thank you, Kurla. That is very thoughtful of you.”
She dismissed the compliment. “It’s what we do, help others. And you can help me too.” She stood and Quinn was on his feet in the next breath.
“I can?” he asked.
“Yes. You can show me how to use this treadmill.”
They both laughed and Quinn couldn’t believe that only a few minutes ago he had been angry.
Chapter Twenty-four
Lenore was idly flicking through screens on the terminal in their cabin when Diarmin walked in. Her body was tugging at her to start pacing but she was doing her best to resist the urge. She had no idea what she was seeing because her thoughts were on her son. From the look on her husband’s face, his were too. She closed the screen and turned her chair to face Diarmin
as he sat on their bed.
“Anything interesting?” he asked.
“No, just letting my mind wander.”
“I thought you might be looking up helpful hints on dealing with adolescents.” His wry smile showed he was being half humorous and half serious.
“I think you and I have read all there is this past year.” She shook her head, not wanting to say what she was about to. “I hate to admit it, but Quinn is right. Our situation is unique. We aren’t going to find any advice about rearing children while on the run from a variety of criminals.”
“Stop that. You know why we did what we did.”
“I know, but I can’t help thinking maybe we should have tried to put them in a school, give them a permanent home.”
“They have a permanent home.”
“A ship is not permanent. It can be blown up or captured. But a planet will always be there for a certain nostalgia.”
“Really? Are you nostalgic about your home planet? Or, er, well the planet you grew up on?”
She gave Diarmin a sour look. “You know I’m not, same as you.” She felt her lips tighten. “But Quinn didn’t pick up on that with the story. He focused on his issues.”
“Speaking of which, did you know he is attracted to Kurla?”
“Huh. I should have guessed. She is an appealing young woman. How do you know for sure?”
“Alli told me. I don’t think I want to know how she found out.”
Lenore gave a short laugh. “Probably not.” She looked at her husband’s worried face. “Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal.”
“Maybe not for you but we don’t know about how it will impact Quinn. She might only be here for a few days but even such a short time can have a permanent impact on a young man. It’s strange, but I thought you would be more bothered by this news. Don’t you remember your first crush?”
“I spent my teens training with the Xa. Doesn’t leave much room for a crush.” Lenore always hated the references to her past so she tried to change the subject. “My worries now are the present and whether this anger of Quinn’s is temporary or quite valid.”
The look on Diarmin’s face told her he knew what she was avoiding but he didn’t pursue it. “Valid?” he asked. “What’s that supposed to mean? Emotions are always valid, but do you honestly think he might be right, that we should have raised them on a planet?”
“Maybe then Alli wouldn’t be so introverted. And both could have had real friends, maybe two or three crushes by now. Not be running for their lives every time we are in normal space.”
“I said it when I came in and I will say it now. Stop it. We can’t change the past. We had good reason for doing what we did. And…” Diarmin paused for a slow breath. “You are right in that we need to tell them the entire stories of our past. Then Quinn can at least understand why things are the way they are. And maybe that living on a planet is not necessarily a good thing. Like our childhoods. I think we have been trying a little too hard to protect them from seeing the dark side of people and the universe. It’s time they knew it all.”
“All? Are you sure?” Lenore asked but she could see his pinched look turn into determination and perhaps resignation.
“Yes, all. Even the fact what I used to be. And the exact reasons why I quit and you left the Order. When they know all of that, then they can decide.”
“I suppose that is what scares me,” said Lenore. “Eventually, they will move on and create their own lives.” She turned back to the terminal. “I just hope we haven’t ruined them for normal.”
“And what if they want to leave sooner rather than later,” Diarmin said under his breath as he left, but Lenore heard him just fine.
***
As soon as her father had left, Allison flicked back to the scan of the ship. She felt a little guilty at the semi-spying, but she didn’t like her family to be at odds. Her father went into his cabin where there was another heat signature, most likely her mother. But Quinn’s room didn’t have anyone in it. Instead there was one in the spare room and another moving down the corridor toward it. Since the last blip showed someone in Bondle’s room, her bet was on Kurla.
What a coincidence. Not. Allison admitted to herself that she didn’t like Kurla, but she wasn’t sure why. Was it because Quinn liked her? Was it because she was too friendly and Allison didn’t understand that mind set? Was it simply her usual dislike of strangers? No, Dad doesn’t really like her either and that was before he knew about Quinn’s feelings.
She found her fingers moving unconsciously on the keyboard and then the conversation in the spare room was coming through the speakers. She felt even more guilty but couldn’t stop herself from listening to Kurla and Quinn. She was tempted to turn on the video but kept herself from going that far.
As the conversation progressed, Allison grew more and more uneasy. She couldn’t see their faces, but, by the tone of their voices, she could tell Quinn was happier than he had been all day. Obviously he would like her. She’s been the only young woman we have ever really spent any time with. Allison bit her lip at the thought, not wanting to agree with the idea that being raised on a ship was wrong.
She turned her attention back to the conversation, but it didn’t calm her. Quinn was thinking about leaving? Her stomach fell. He wasn’t even an adult yet. Could he leave if their parents didn’t let him? If they held him here, that might make things worse and he might get angry enough to go anyway. Should she say something to her parents? She didn’t want to lose her big brother.
A beep pulled her attention back to her console. Her fingers danced over the keyboard, bringing up the program that had indicated a problem. She had noticed an occasional glitch in the recordings that she shouldn’t have been keeping so she had run a diagnostic on the communication systems to find any problems. That beep indicated an anomaly, but the computer wasn’t sure what it was.
Pulling up the base codes, she quickly scanned through the data, looking for anything out of place. Nothing... nothing... there! Wait, there’s something else too.
Hm, one thing out of the ordinary could be a simple error. Two things, however, meant this wasn’t simply random interference. She settled down to hunt the source or sources.
Two hours later Allison still hadn’t solved the issues but instead noted more problems. The first issue proved to be very cyclical, occurring every thirty minutes. Doesn’t feel like a random malfunction there.
But the second issue happened once, at a very specific time.
While they had been out of transwarp, dealing with the leak.
It looked like data had been erased for a five-minute block. I suppose it could have been the result of the EMP mine.
Yet, that didn’t feel quite right. I’ll find it out if I have to search all night, she thought, glad for something to occupy her.
But though the project was engrossing, she couldn’t get the thought of Quinn leaving out of her mind.
Chapter Twenty-five
Dinner was a quiet time. Lenore was on the bridge and Quinn had said he was going to eat in his room. When he had said that, Diarmin noticed the worried look on Allison’s face but since Kurla was staying at the table, he put it down to Alli’s usual dislike of discord in the family.
The conversation between the two passengers and himself revolved around asking if they were comfortable and needed anything. They assured him they were fine, and silence descended again. Bondle looked deep in thought, most likely pondering some science and unaware of the awkwardness. Kurla was obviously aware and appeared slightly uncomfortable, but she did nothing to try to break the tension.
“I’ll go see if the captain wants anything,” said Allison and she exited as if escaping. Diarmin did as well by taking his dish to the recycler and cleaning the galley even though it was Lenore’s turn. Kurla handed him her plate and utensils and left for her room. Diarmin got so involved with cleaning, he barely noticed Allison come in for dinner for Lenore. He started on an inventory of the foodst
uffs they had left and was interrupted by Alli.
“Here.” She handed him some more dishes.
“Is she done already?”
“No, these are Bondle’s.”
Startled, Diarmin looked at where Bondle was seated but it was empty. “I didn’t even notice he had gone. Do you know if he went back to his cabin?”
“He was gone when I came in.”
“Would you check if he is in the cargo bay? It’s a little early but he might be doing his nightly check.”
“Sure,” Allison hesitated as if she were going to say something. Diarmin thought about prompting her but she abruptly turned and headed out the door, presumably toward the cargo bay.
Shortly after, he had finished cleaning and met Bondle at the top of the ladder to the bay.
“Have a good night, Mr. Bondle.”
Bondle mumbled something similar and vanished into the lounge. Diarmin went down, nearly running into his daughter.
“All okay?”
“Yes. He was already down here, examining a sample when I got here.”
“Wait. He was actually examining a sample?”
“Yes, why?”
“Well, so far he merely checked the monitors of the crates, never opened one.” Diarmin felt a surge of concern.
“It was only a small opening and he didn’t open the vial, just ran a scanner over it then put it back.” Allison pointed at the lower corner of the crate’s monitor. “He entered some code here to close the opening, but I didn’t see what it was.”
“That’s okay, Alli. I am sure he would have told us if there was anything to worry about.” But just to be safe, Diarmin was going to run some scans of his own. “Thanks for helping out tonight. One more transition tomorrow afternoon and the day after the cargo will be gone and we’ll be paid.”
He was happy to see the grin on his daughter’s face. “And get some more real food.”
“First on the list.” He smiled back but the smile faded as he noticed Allison hesitate again.
