My attempt at a joke fell totally flat. Aidan wore an expression I’d never before seen.
‘I’m really sorry, Aidan,’ I said again. ‘Forgive me?’
Aidan nodded though his gaze slid away from mine. ‘Vee, be careful. OK?’
‘Careful about what?’
‘Just be careful.’
50
The following morning, after a quick shower in my quarters, I was ready to start my shift. After a quick stop at the science lab on the same floor, I made my way along the corridor to the bridge. Footsteps came running up behind me.
‘Nat! Nathan, wait.’
I turned to see Anjuli running towards me. My heart sank. I could guess what was coming. I raised a hand to ward her off.
‘Listen, if you’ve come to bitch about Vee, I’m not interested. I know she bounced you off the bridge and I’m sorry about that, but my mum would’ve done the same if she’d been in charge and you know it.’
‘Nat, I realize I messed up,’ said Anjuli. ‘But I need to get back on the bridge. That’s where I belong, not in the sodding engine room.’
Anjuli just didn’t get it. Her stunt had almost cost the lives of everyone on board but all she could see was her punishment, not the reason for it. I really didn’t need this. Not now.
‘What exactly d’you expect me to do about it?’
‘Is it true that you and Vee are officially joined?’ asked Anjuli hopefully.
‘Yes, but—’
‘Great!’ Anjuli’s eyes lit up. ‘Make her take me back on the bridge.’
My eyebrows shot up. ‘Anjuli, have you been drinking Prop? I can’t make Vee do anything.’
‘You’re her husband, aren’t you?’
‘What has that got to do with the price of Garen meat on Callisto?’ I frowned.
‘She’ll listen to you if you ask her to give me back my old job. If you managed to persuade her to join with you so soon after the two of you met, then you can get her to do anything. Tell her I know what I did was wrong and that it will never happen again. Please.’
‘OK, Anjuli, let’s get something straight right now,’ I said, annoyed. ‘I asked Vee to trust her instincts where she and I were concerned and luckily for me she did. That’s completely different to interfering with her professional decisions and judgment. Vee runs this ship, not me. And I’m not going to start telling her what she should do and how she should do it. I’d like our joining to last.’ Anjuli had to be seriously demented if she thought I’d jeopardize my relationship with Vee for her, or anyone else for that matter.
‘Just get her to give me a second chance. Tell her I’ve learned my lesson. That’s all I ask. Please, Nat, just try. You owe me . . .’
And there it was.
Silence stretched between us.
‘I’m sorry to play that card, but you do owe me and I’m desperate,’ pleaded Anjuli.
Yes, I did owe her. When I’d first arrived on Callisto, I’d had less than a clue. Anjuli had befriended me, shown me the ropes and taught me which guards and supervisors to avoid like primate flu and which ones were still relatively human. And she’d actually saved my life once. I would’ve sunk without trace if it hadn’t been for her and we both knew it.
‘OK,’ I sighed. ‘I’ll have a word but I can’t guarantee anything.’
‘Thanks, Nat!’ Anjuli leaped at me, her arms around my neck. I had to put my arms around her or she would’ve landed in a heap at my feet. She kissed me before placing her feet back on the ground. ‘I knew you wouldn’t let me down.’
‘You did hear the part about my not being able to guarantee anything, right?’ I asked.
‘Yeah, yeah! This will make us even.’ Anjuli beamed at me.
She spun round and headed back towards the lift and she was almost skipping. As far as Anjuli was concerned, it was a done deal. I shook my head. This really was one issue I wanted to stay the hell out of. I turned to make my way to the bridge.
Vee was standing outside the closed bridge doors, watching me intently.
‘Hello, Nate,’ she said as I approached her.
Vee was the only one who called me Nate. Most of my friends called me Nat. Mum called me Nathan. I liked the way my name sounded when Vee said it, but then I liked everything about her. A quick glance around to make sure we were alone, then I pulled her to me for a quick kiss. Vee turned her head and my lips landed on her cheek. She pulled out of my grasp.
What on Callisto . . .?
‘What’s wrong?’ I frowned.
Vee’s fixed expression slowly relaxed into a smile. ‘Nothing’s wrong. I just don’t want any of the crew to see us messing around when we should be working.’
‘Well, I did check first and the coast is clear. Plus it’s not messing around to kiss my wife, but fair enough.’ I smiled.
‘It’s just that it’s hard enough to get your colleagues to take me seriously as captain because of my age,’ Vee said. ‘I don’t want them to think less of me than they already do.’
‘Olivia, you’ve saved our lives twice now. If, after that, someone wants to think less of you because of a kiss, then you should tell them to kiss your—’
‘Ah . . . OK,’ Vee interrupted. ‘D’you wanna calm down now?’
‘Or better yet, send them to me. I’ll put them straight,’ I said, still reluctant to climb down from my high horse.
Vee smiled and placed her hand on my cheek, stroking my face. ‘My hero!’ Her hand dropped to her side. ‘Was that Anjuli I saw heading off down the corridor?’
‘Yeah. She was telling me how upset she is that she let you down,’ I replied.
‘She didn’t seem particularly upset to me,’ Vee said.
‘No, she really is. She was asking me how she could prove to you that it’ll never happen again.’
‘And what did you tell her?’
‘That the running of this ship is down to you, not me,’ I said.
‘And that’s what made her so happy as she walked away?’
Oh hell! Vee must’ve seen Anjuli flinging herself on me.
‘Well, don’t tell her I told you but she asked me to speak to you on her behalf. She wants me to try and get you to change your mind about having her on the bridge,’ I admitted.
‘And you said?’
‘I told her I would try.’ I shrugged. ‘That’s why she went away happy.’
‘I see,’ said Vee after a moment’s pause. ‘And are you going to?’
‘Going to what?’
‘Try and persuade me to change my mind?’
‘It might be an interesting test of my persuasive powers, to have you know what I’m doing but still manage to do it anyway,’ I smiled.
‘You’ve already proven just how persuasive you can be,’ said Vee, a strange note to her voice.
‘Vee, are you OK?’ I asked, concerned. ‘You sound a little . . . off.’
‘I’ve just got a headache,’ Vee replied. ‘I’m off to the medi bay to see if Doctor Liana can sort it for me.’
‘Want some company?’
‘No, I’ll be all right. Besides, your shift is about to start and mine has just ended. See you later.’
Vee headed off down the corridor, leaving me frowning behind her. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought she was in a hurry to get away from me.
51
Vee, don’t be a moron, I told myself. Nathan and Anjuli are good friends, nothing less and certainly nothing more.
I mean, Nathan had known Anjuli far longer than he’d known me, and living on Callisto probably meant that you had to keep your friends close if you wanted to survive. I needed to get my act together. I couldn’t get in a flap every time Nathan spoke to or hugged or kissed another girl. He was with me. When our shifts were over, he came home to me. What more did I want or need? I headed into the medi bay.
‘Nihao, Doc.’
‘Hello, Vee, or should I call you, “O Captain, my Captain” and bow low?’
‘You love teasin
g me about that word, don’t you?’ I groaned. ‘And weren’t those words from a poem used in the late twentieth-century film Dead Poets Society starring Robin Williams?’
Doctor Liana stared at me. I’d done it again, quoted a film which no one else but me had a clue about.
‘Never mind,’ I dismissed, my face growing hot.
‘Yes, they were used in that film,’ grinned the doctor. ‘And the original poem was written by Earth American poet Walt Whitman.’
‘About the death of American president Abraham Lincoln,’ I supplied.
The doctor and I exchanged a smile of genuine pleasure.
‘It is so nice to finally meet someone who’s into more than just a ship’s nuts, bolts and weaponry,’ said the doctor.
‘Well, I’m into that too,’ I admitted. ‘And to answer your original question, “Vee” will do just fine and we can discuss the depth of your bow some other time.’
I looked around the medical bay. The doc had moved the medi-pods around and reconfigured the data panels above each of the beds. It was now far more efficient and ergonomic.
‘You’ve done a great job in here,’ I said, impressed.
‘Thank you. I take it you don’t mind me making changes?’
Surprised at the question, I shook my head. ‘Why on Earth would I mind? You’re in charge of this medi bay, not me.’
‘I wasn’t sure if you’d see it that way,’ said the doctor.
‘How else would I see it?’ I frowned.
Doctor Liana nodded, satisfied that I wasn’t going to try and encroach on her domain. ‘So what can I do for you?’
‘I just came to get something for this pounding headache. I’ve had it all day and I can’t seem to be able to shift it.’
‘Take a seat on the bed whilst I scan you,’ said Doctor Liana.
‘Doc,’ I sighed. ‘I really don’t need a full medical check-up for a headache.’
‘Let me be the judge of that,’ said the doc. ‘Besides, all commanding officers are required to have a full medical check-up at least once every six months. Authority regulations.’
‘Bugger the Authority,’ I muttered.
‘And so say all of us,’ smiled Doctor Liana. ‘Actually, I’ve issued a schedule for everyone on board to have a full medical check. For some of them on board, it’ll be the first time they’ve had a proper medical assessment. Back on Callisto, I was given just enough equipment and medicine to make sure the drones could work at maximum efficiency, but that was it.’
I sighed and sat down on the nearest bed. ‘The more I hear from you and others about life on Callisto, the more I realize just how much the rest of us have been kept in the dark by the Authority. I know I’ve been away from Earth for a while but my ignorance of what’s going on back in my own solar system embarrasses me.’
Doctor Liana laid a hand on my shoulder. ‘I felt exactly the same way when I was exiled to Callisto. I had no clue about the lives of drones and I must admit I didn’t really want one either.’
‘You were exiled to Callisto? Why? I thought you were just one of the Authority’s doctors assigned to that moon.’
The doctor’s gaze fell away from mine as she picked up the MMS or mobile medical scanner. ‘I was one of three doctors on the entire moon serving a drone population of over a million, but I was exiled there. No one in their right mind would volunteer to work in such a place.’
I noticed she hadn’t answered my question about why she’d been exiled to Callisto but I decided not to pry further. It really wasn’t any of my business, and if she didn’t want to talk about it then I had to respect her wishes.
‘Could I have something for my headache and come back some other time for the check-up?’ I asked.
‘Nope. Something tells me that if I let you leave now, I won’t see you again unless I drag you in here,’ said the doctor.
And she was right! I resigned myself to a full-body scan, blood tests, the works. I remembered how my dad had been the same. If I came into the medical bay with a cut or a graze, he’d perform a full battery of tests. It had to be a really annoying doctor thing. I looked at Liana. The sadness in her blue eyes that I’d noticed the first time I saw her hadn’t gone away. If anything it was more pronounced.
As she passed her MMS slowly down then up my body, I asked, ‘Doc, where were you born?’
‘On Earth, the same as you,’ said the doctor.
‘Is that where you met your husband?’
‘How did you know I was married?’
I shrugged. ‘When Nate and I came to ask you to be a witness at our joining ceremony, you kept telling us that being joined was a serious business and not a bed of roses and that we’d have to work at it and whatnot and you spoke like you knew what you were talking about. I know you never mentioned a husband when you were talking about your son, but I just assumed.’
‘Well, you’re right. I was joined actually.’
‘Where did you meet your husband?’
‘He was the chief engineer of the first Earth vessel I worked on. I took one look at him and I knew I’d found my soulmate.’ Doctor Liana was staring somewhere past my shoulder into her memories, a slight smile playing on her lips. ‘He was an amazing man, fiercely loyal, loving and the best damned engineer the Authority ever had, mostly self-taught. That’s how good he was.’ The doctor glanced at me and gave a rueful smile. ‘But that was a long time ago.’ She viewed my readings on her mobile scanner.
‘So what’s the verdict?’ I asked. ‘Will I live?’
‘Would Nathan let you do otherwise?’ said the doc drily. ‘That guy dotes on you.’
‘The feeling is mutual,’ I smiled. ‘In fact, sometimes I . . .’
‘Yes?’ the doctor prompted. ‘I don’t know what I’d do if he ever stopped loving me,’ I admitted.
‘He won’t,’ said the doctor.
I shrugged, feigning nonchalance. Move on, Vee! ‘I know I’ve said it before but thanks again for agreeing to be a witness at our joining ceremony. Nate and I really appreciated it.’
‘You’re welcome, and you don’t have to keep thanking me,’ Doctor Liana replied. ‘Mind you, Catherine wasn’t too thrilled with me. She verbally kicked my derrière all around this room.’
‘Oh dear. I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t be. It does Catherine good once in a while to realize she can’t control everything in her life, including her son. In fact, especially her son,’ said the doctor.
‘So you’re not one of those who thinks I should hand over this ship to her?’
Doctor Liana gave me a horrified look. ‘Don’t you know how to run this vessel?’
‘Of course I do,’ I replied with indignation.
‘And you’re the legitimate commander?’
‘Yes I am.’
‘Then I don’t understand your question,’ said the doctor.
She made it sound so simple. Maybe I was worrying about, if not nothing, then too much. So what if some of the colonists still viewed me with suspicion? I’d just have to show them with my actions that my age had nothing to do with my experience and competence. And if after all that they still couldn’t accept me? Well, that was their problem. I refused to make it mine.
And then there was Nathan.
I could wish he hadn’t blurted it out like that about the two of us but maybe it was for the best. Maybe it would convince some of the doubters that I really was on their side and wouldn’t betray them to the Authority. Or maybe it wouldn’t make any difference.
Or just maybe I shouldn’t care so much about the opinions of others.
‘So, Olivia, what d’you think of married life?’
‘So far so good.’ I shrugged.
The doc gave me a studied look. ‘Is everything OK with you two?’
I nodded. ‘Yeah. Nothing I can’t handle.’
‘Hhmm. And how’s your sex life?’
‘Doc!’
‘What? I’m your doctor as well as your friend, remember. Any problems
in that area?’
Was I really having this conversation?
‘None whatsoever, thank you.’ I couldn’t help my smile as I revisited a memory or two.
‘Ooh, that smile on your face is verging on obscene,’ said the doctor.
Face on fire, my smile vanished, making the doctor laugh.
‘I’m just teasing, Vee. Not about your smile – that was obscene – but it’s lovely to see a young couple who aren’t afraid of life for a change. I know I questioned you both long and hard before agreeing to be a witness at your joining ceremony and insisted you sort out a method of contraception, but I hope you understand, I had to make sure that you and Nathan fully understood what you were letting yourselves in for.’
‘It may have been spur-of-the-moment, but it wasn’t done on a whim or for frivolous reasons,’ I said. ‘I really do . . . care about him.’
‘The way I care about all my patients?’ teased Doctor Liana.
‘Not quite,’ I said drily.
‘That’s what I thought.’
My face was beginning to burn again. Why did I find that one word so hard to say? I didn’t find it hard to feel, that was for sure. The way I had fallen for Nathan so hard and so fast still amazed me. I’d jump in the way of a Mazon blast for him without even thinking about it.
‘Nate and me, we just . . . fit. We understand each other,’ I tried to explain.
‘I gathered that from the moment I saw the two of you together,’ said Doctor Liana. ‘You two reminded me of me and my husband. That’s why I finally agreed to act as a witness.’
‘Did you tell the commander that?’
The doctor raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you kidding? Besides, she did most of the talking, not me. I just let her get on with it. I find that’s the best thing to do when Catherine goes off on one.’
I smothered a laugh. I did like Doctor Liana. She was a no-nonsense, straight-talking woman. I knew where I stood with her.
‘Doctor, what . . . what d’you think of Anjuli?’ I couldn’t help asking.
‘Anjuli? She has interesting clavicles.’
I wasn’t really looking for information about her collar bones. ‘Is she . . .?’
The doctor looked at me expectantly waiting for me to continue.