by S. E. Smith
“I understand completely.” Dian checked with the dog as if he had a say in the matter. “Charrli won’t mind, will you?”
The dog, who was sitting patiently next to the table waiting for a tidbit or two, barked once. Dian cooed at her pet and tossed him a chunk of her breakfast omelet.
“From what I’ve read, Azlaya’s most spectacular vocalizations actually reach levels above the range of human hearing, which might be painful for Charrli,” Juli said, hoping to make Dian more amenable to leaving her pet alone in the cabin for a few hours without protest.
Dian reached to rub one of Charrli’s silky ears. “Remember he’s not an ordinary canine,” she said, shaking her finger at Juli for emphasis. “He has unusual capabilities. But I agree it might be better to leave him out of tonight’s plans.”
“Steve mentioned you and Charrli were in the Z Corps,” Juli said, letting out a huge breath. She hadn’t dared to hope Dian would be so reasonable about her adored pet. “We had a security officer on board for a while who also served in the Z Corps. He had a huge eagle.”
“Yes, we each have the animal we’re particularly bonded to,” Dian said with a smile. “Charrli’s species is native to my home planet and I’ve had him since he was a pup. Sorry I can’t tell tales from my service days but it’s all classified.”
“I understand. Grant—the man who was a member of the crew for a while—said the same thing.” Juli was pleased to have a previous experience with a Z Corps veteran to mention and thus demonstrate her true grasp of at least a portion of the unique aspects of Dian’s service.
“If you have a few minutes before you have to resume your duties, I’ll share one story,” Dian offered. She patted the chair beside her. “You look as if you could use some soothing tea.”
“I shouldn’t.” The offer was tempting and Juli gave in to the urge. “But a chance to hear a tale directly from Dian the ‘Celestial Wanderer ‘is too good to miss.”
Dian smoothed her elaborate coiffure and fluffed the curls on the back of her head with an arch expression. “You’ve been researching my blogs? I’m flattered.”
“I wanted to offer you a spot as a guest lecturer, if you don’t mind working on your cruise with us,” Juli said, calm descending on her as she was on more familiar ground, negotiating with a prospective contractor, even if Dian was a minor celebrity and Steve’s aunt. Smoothly she heaped on a little praise and flattery and then sweetened the deal at the end. “I’ve seen for myself how interested other passengers are in talking about your experiences. We could refund part of your fare.”
“I’d be delighted. All I need to know is when and where, and how long to talk.” Dian drank more coffee and set the cup on the table with a decisive click. “Steve and I aren’t actually related, you know,” Dian said. “He was the pilot sent in to extract Charrli and me on our last mission as members of Z Corps. What no one knew at the time was I’d been captured. He was shot down but against all odds he and Charrli found each other in the dense jungle—Charrli takes all the credit for that and Steve doesn’t argue—and located the enemy camp where I was being held. Rescuing me wasn’t easy, he was also captured at one point. Steve and I both endured an ordeal, to put it mildly but we came through to the other side together and sort of adopted each other.” Dian leaned closer as Juli held her breath. “He’s one of the rare ones, a good man through and through.”
Blushing, disconcerted by Dian’s blunt speaking, Juli stammered. “I don’t—I haven’t—he isn’t—”
“You do, you have and he is,” Dian said with a merry laugh. “He’s mentioned you more than once in his coms to me since he joined this ship. I see the way you look at him and I certainly saw how well you danced together. I’m not sure why the two of you are taking so long to figure out this mutual attraction, unless it’s his position as a senior officer? But you don’t report to him.”
“Not strictly speaking but he is above me in the hierarchy. He’s not in my direct chain of command, but his rank makes the situation awkward. And he doesn’t mingle much at all with the passenger side of the ship.” Blushing furiously, Juli decided to throw her usual caution to the star winds and confide in Dian. “He was already here on the Zephyr when I was hired. We went on one group date with other crew members and it was a disaster. Not only did he and everyone else get the mistaken idea I was interested in someone else, he was involved with one of the senior stewardesses. There was too much imbibing of feelgoods by a couple of people, a fight broke out, the planetary police intervened…” Juli’s voice trailed off. The whole thing had been a nightmare and she’d withdrawn into a self-protective shell, concentrating on her work and trying to convince Captain Fleming he hadn’t made a mistake by selecting her. But her attraction to Steve Aureli lingered, making her wistful and diminishing if not eliminating her interest in any other guy. She’d dated a few times but the evenings were awkward and she finally gave up, concentrating on her job instead.
“He didn’t share those details with me. He wouldn’t—he doesn’t gossip. Your name featured in his coms about life on this ship suspiciously often though. You have to understand, Juli, he like so many of us former military types, has a certain degree of post-traumatic stress to work though. Civilian life doesn’t always represent the easier road after years in dangerous situations.” Dian glanced at the luxurious appointments of her cabin. “I will say, however, this ship is a good environment, supportive, surrounded by others who do understand the costs fighting a war exact from a person.”
“Is that why you travel so much?” Juli asked with a flash of sudden understanding.
”Oh, I can’t settle in one spot after roaming outside the fence—behind the lines in enemy territory for you civilian types—for so many years. And I need the spice of danger to keep me interested in what’s over the horizon. Plus Charrli gets restless, don’t you?” She patted the dog’s head and he gave a small, emphatic woof.
Juli wondered how sentient Charrli was. To be in the Z corps, as she understood matters, he had to be of enhanced intelligence and telepathic to at least some extent. The dog regarded her evenly, his brown eyes sparkling, but was to all intents and purposes a well-mannered, pampered pet. “I’d better be going.” She fished a token from her uniform pocket and handed it to Dian. “This will get you into the theater tonight and the seats are assigned. I’m afraid crew members are pretty far removed from the stage. I’m not sure if I’ll be joining you because my one job frankly is to get the diva onto the stage and then pray she opens her mouth and sings. So I may be stuck backstage all night.”
“I understand and I appreciate the invitation.” Dian made the token spin on the table and then tucked it into her pocket. “Good luck with your diva.”
Juli flinched at the mention of luck and took her leave. She lectured herself on the silly notion she’d had hours before, about the late passenger’s stolen rock exerting an uncanny influence on events.
Chapter Five
The evening passed off beautifully. The diva’s voice was in tiptop shape, her symbionts enhanced Azlaya’s natural skills to allow her to create a vocal performance full of trills and riffs no ordinary humanoid could achieve, and she was condescending enough to sing two encores after the preset program, in response to the wild enthusiasm of the crowd.
Juli enjoyed the rare sight of jaded generational billionaires and even a few Socialites on their feet giving a standing ovation and begging for more music.
The after party was equally glittering. Juli circulated among the crowd, overhearing nothing but praise and excitement among the guests. Coming from such normally bored high rollers, those remarks were gratifying and she felt satisfied she’d pulled off a coup. The diva even had kind words for Juli’s efforts. Dian exchanged a few remarks with the diva and received reassurance the private concert was still on, even if the day and time were left vague.
When Juli was finally free to go off duty and seek the peace and quiet of her cabin, she drifted leisurely down the antigr
av tube toward her residence deck and relaxed. Maybe the worst part of the cruise was finally over. From here to Tahumaroa Two things might be smooth sailing.
A girl could hope.
Half of the Level Five beach deck had been set aside for the Tahumaroa Two-themed beach party. Juli reported for duty two hours before the event was scheduled to begin and was relieved to find things proceeding smoothly under the supervision of her deputy, Meg Thomsill. Bands were to play throughout the day, there was to be a constantly replenished buffet of seafood and other delicacies from Chef Stephanie’s kitchens, entertainers would be performing dances and mini concerts, as well as giving lessons, there were contests ranging from limbo dancing to surfing on the beach deck’s gentle waves, to building sand castles. A beach volleyball tournament open to all was already nearly fully subscribed. There was to be a snorkel contest involving digging for treasure in one of the lagoons. Jake’s security staff had enjoyed themselves hiding the trinkets and a few expensive pieces of jewelry in the sand and scattered along the faux coral reef. The ship was going all out to provide a fun, thematic event and put passengers in a gala mood for their arrival at the resort planet in a few days.
There was even a marathon showing of beach-themed trideos scheduled in a pavilion off to one side. Juli had managed to locate a few of the stars of the vintage ‘Beach Planet Bingo’ trideo series and hired them to make an appearance and sign holo autographs.
Maeve was generating mild breezes in one area of the deck to support fantastic kites in all shapes and colors.
“I think we’re set for a good day,” Meg said as Juli crossed the sand to join her.
“No problems?” She had a tingle in the back of her neck which usually presaged a disaster but there’d been no problems with the concert the other night and the voyage was running smoothly now.
“Well, the chef reported a batch of the shellfish had spoiled but she double-checked the rest and found no issues.” Meg didn’t sound too concerned so the issue must not have a high priority. “Probably the same food purveyor who sent the bad dairy items. He’s getting blacklisted for sure.” She checked her handheld and frowned. “Several of the trideo stars overindulged at the casino bar last night and needed the doctor’s services but their manager swears she’ll have them here at the appointed time.”
“It’s their moment to shine,” Juli said with a shrug. “No one’s given them any thought, much less free publicity, in probably fifteen years. What idiots to risk this opportunity and jeopardize a paying gig.”
“If the so-called stars don’t appear as promised, we do have the trideos ready to play instead.”
Pleased and relieved, Juli smiled. “Always prepared, that’s us.”
A waiter went by with a tray of beach-themed feelgoods, each one either in an elaborate container or festooned with tiny umbrellas and the like.
A little uneasy about guests drinking all day at her event, Juli said, “Security will be tight, yes?”
Meg followed her line of sight. “We do have a few early arrivals who also want to get a jump on the imbibing. But don’t worry, Jake’s got nearly his entire squad assigned to us today and of course the lifeguards are an extra layer of security too. People might get exuberant but not out of hand.”
“Good.” Juli checked her schedule. “I’m off to make sure the first sandcastle contest area is set. I’m judging.”
“Have fun! I’m on deck for getting the volleyball tournament running.” Grinning, Meg said, “I only wish I could play but as long as the scheduled crew members show up for their time slots, I don’t have any excuse to step in.”
“Meet you at the surf competition later then.”
As Juli made her way toward the area set aside for the castle building, Steve Aureli fell into step with her.
“You do go all out for these events, don’t you?” he asked. “I don’t think I really understood the effort before, not having been involved much. Showing Aunt Dian around has been an eye opener to all the hard work you and your staff put in. The passengers should be pleased. I’ll pay more attention in future staff meetings, I promise.”
Acutely conscious of how attractive he was in tan cargo shorts and a tight blue and white Nebula Zephyr Crew tee shirt accenting his muscles, she had to work hard to keep her mind on what they were talking about. “This is the single biggest event we’ve tried,” she said, refocusing. “Lots of moving parts. I couldn’t manage it without Meg’s help.” Waving one hand at the activity in their vicinity, she added, “Many of these things were her idea. She deserves a ship of her own and her husband could certainly take command of a ship’s security office but I’d hate to see them go. And the Thomsills would go as a team or else not at all.”
Matching his stride to hers, Steve nodded. “Scuttlebutt indicates the Line is considering adding another ship to the CLC fleet. There might be opportunities for a lot of good people to rise in the ranks.”
With a pang at the thought of him leaving the Zephyr, she asked, “Are you in line for a captaincy?”
“Maybe someday, if Fleming were to retire.” His eyes twinkled as he said, “I’m perfectly content here on this ship.”
A tiny wave of giddiness passed over her at the idea of his remaining on the Zephyr indefinitely. Heat blossomed in her cheeks as she blushed over her deep interest in his future plans and she pressed him a bit. “Isn’t every officer’s dream to command their own vessel?”
“It’s one possibility, sure. But the setup here is pretty sweet, especially with Maeve as our AI. I’m not driven to take over the captain’s chair.” He gestured at the growing crowd of passengers arriving on the beach. “I’m not much more of an extrovert than Fleming is, you know. I like having the bridge to myself, flying the ship more than I relish coming down here to play volleyball all day.”
Her heart was beating faster as a result of all this one on one congenial conversation with Steve. She wanted to prolong the encounter as long as she could. “Are you the captain of the crew team then?”
“A very persuasive cruise director talked me into volunteering.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “Now who could that have been?”
“I appreciate your willingness to be involved today.” Tense, wanting something in her hands to cover her nervousness, she snagged a pink concoction from a passing waiter with a tray of regular drinks, not feelgoods. Twirling the green paper umbrella in one hand, she took a tiny sip. Seeing his raised eyebrows, Juli said, “Pink lemonade straight up, I swear. I never drink on duty. Are Dian and Charrli here yet?”
“I haven’t seen them but I know she was looking forward to attending.” He glanced at the volleyball court. “I’d better get going.”
“Good luck—see you later.” Although she was sorry to have to end her conversation with Steve, Juli saw the one other person she’d been eager to talk to and made a beeline to intercept the man as he crossed the sand. “Mr. Perkimier, how are you this morning? I hope as the official representative of Tahumaroa Two you approve of the festivities?”
Grinning, the official shook her hand, retaining his hold on her fingers a little too long. “You’ve done us proud, Ms. Shaeffer. If I hadn’t arrived via the gravlift, I’d think I was on my planet instead of a ship.” A cheer from the direction of the volleyball court interrupted him. “Your passengers won’t want to leave to explore Tahumaroa Two.”
Juli answered seriously, as she usually did. “On the contrary, we hope their curiosity and excitement will be all the keener for having had this small taste of what your planet offers.”
He accepted a drink from the next waiter to make the circuit of the beach. “Where do you want me?” An innocuous remark, given an underlying obnoxious edge due to his tone and the leer on his face.
Repelled by his ham handed attempt to flirt, Juli checked her handheld, even though the details were crisp in her mind. “I’ll have a staff member assigned to escort you. In about an hour we’ll take a break between bands and you can give a short speech of welcome.
The Ship will make sure a trideo of you appears at key points on the beach and in the daily news brief for the passengers. After your remarks are concluded, we have the Ocean Wind Dancers doing a half an hour performance of Tahumaroan classics. They’re one of several groups we booked, based on your office’s recommendations. Thank you for all the help in arranging this event.”
“It was my pleasure. The CLC Line is important to us and our tourist business.” He leaned a little too close.
“Since we have a few minutes, there is a question I’ve wanted to ask you, about the planet’s history,” she said, pushing her irritation with the man away to focus on getting the information she wanted out of him. “I understand there’s a superstition about not taking rocks from a certain beach, a legend about incurring bad luck as a result—”
Perkimier laughed. “Don’t tell me you fell for that line of bull. Listen, some tour guide dreamt the story up years ago and spun the yarn for his customers because he didn’t want his groundcar vans full of dust. The rocks on the beach are primarily volcanic and prone to shed powder, which caused him problems with his vehicles’ engines.” He eyed her. “Listen, Tahumaroa Two had an ancient civilization thousands of years before the current humanoids created their own, or the human colonists arrived. Nothing is known about the ancients—”
“Were they Ancient Observers?” she asked, naming the mysterious travelers known throughout the Sectors for having left high tech installations in their wake, mysterious bases still functioning after a million years, although no one knew what the machines’ purposes might have been.
“No, strictly a low tech society from the planet, but fairly complex, ruled by a lot of mythology.” Perkimier shrugged. “There are learned books on the topic—you can do the research yourself if you don’t believe me. Two Goddesses beach used to have pretty well preserved ruins but then the hurricane of ’03 hit and swept it all away. There are guided tours of the sunken remnants offshore and I suppose debris might wash up from time to time. But no one really knows anything, so it’s all malarkey in my opinion. Tourists always want souvenirs and so a few people take rocks instead of spending their credits at the gift shop. The storm waves bring more so no one loses.” He beamed as if he’d completed a successful pop quiz. “Did I set your mind at rest on whatever you were going to ask? Because we can discuss it more over dinner tomorrow if you’re free.” His expression reverted to lecherous and he’d invaded her personal space.
