Captain Cosette (10 page)

Reiff snorted. 
“You can’t call it wine unless it’s made from grapes.”

“
Here,” said Garale, refilling Cosette’s glass, “see if it jogs your memory.”

The woman sniffed. 
“We can call it anything we want, Reiff.  It sells better if we call it wine.”

Cosette
drank another swallow, trying to shake loose her memory, but her past was still unfamiliar territory.

Dinner arrived, sizzling steaks, strips of white vegetables with a golden sauce, and tender sautéed mushrooms.  She watched carefully as the others ate.  She tried to imitate them, but holding the knife in their strange fashion was difficult for her and made them look at each other with amusement.  She seemed to have no skill at cutting a steak, and she had to suffer the humiliation of the handsome lieutenant cutting her meat into small pieces.  She tried to hide her embarrassment by draining her glass.

Piped music played in the hall, and the atmosphere was relaxed.  People at the other tables laughed, sometimes as they looked at her, and she nodded back at them.  The meat was exquisite; the mushrooms were acceptable, and the fruit course afterwards was strange but sweet.

She didn’t mind that she didn’t understand the jokes that they told, and she didn’t mind that the woman looked narrowly at the lieutenant who had cut her meat, and after finishing another glass she didn’t mind that he put his hand on her wrist possessively. 

It was the grandest dinner that she could remember.

It was the only dinner that she could remember.

Chapter Seven

Dinner concluded for the officers aboard the space station, and everyone left for their various duties. 
Cosette found that she was unsteady walking, and the Lieutenant had to guide her through the corridors.  Her thoughts wandered also. 

Why
did
that
woman
look
like
she
was
mad
at
the
Lieutenant
? 
I
was
embarrassed
he
had
to
cut
my
meat
for
me
. 
I
need
to
learn
to
cut
meat
politely
for
the
next
time
I
eat
with
the
officers
. 
They
seemed
nice
;
some
of
them
were
looking
at
me
and
laughing
.

I
feel
like
I
was
born
yesterday
. 
Born
in
the
infirmary
full
grown
with
all
this
knowledge
in
me
. 
Except
manners
. 
And
I
can’t
remember
growing
up
,
can’t
remember
coming
up
here
to
this
station
.

She stumbled, and the Lieutenant put his arm around her shoulder to steady her.  He left it on her shoulder, and she felt safer.

“You should have turned right,” she said after they passed a corridor.  “This only goes to the officer’s quarters.”

“
You’re a bit woozy,” he said.  “I’ll show you my quarters first.”

That
didn’t
quite
make
sense
.

“
You said you would give me a tour of the station.”

“
I think you need a bit of rest first.  That was a large dinner.”

“
Yes, but…”

Someone called to her from behind. 
“Cosette?”

She turned to see a tall man that looked familiar.  He had deep dark eyes, a wide jaw, and his ears were pierced, though they held no earrings. 
“I’ve been looking for you,” he said.

“
You’re interrupting our conversation, cadet,” said the Lieutenant.

“
I was worried about Cosette; she hasn’t been well.”

“
You’re still interrupting our conversation.  Cadet Nicholas will be free later.”

“
I apologize, but I’m supposed to look after her.”

“
She doesn’t need looking after; she’s with me.  Now leave.”

“
I’m staying with her.  I promised her father I would keep her safe.”

Cosette
moved to the side, looking from one man to the other.  The Lieutenant got a dangerous look on his face.  “Return to your assignment, cadet.  That’s an order.”

They’re
getting
angry
. 

She read the cadet’s name tag, and said,
“It’s okay, Cadet Rasora.  He’s just taking me to his quarters.”

Oops
. 
That
didn’t
help
. 

Rasora’s pupils widened
and he moved his hand along his waist as though reaching for something.

The Lieutenant’s face reddened. 
“Are you disobeying orders, cadet?”

Before Rasora could respond, the ceiling speaker clicked on.  A woman’s voice said,
“This is an announcement.  Attention, everyone.”

“
An announcement,” said Cosette, holding up her finger and trying to make it sound important.  “Everyone should listen.” 

And
not
fight
.

Neither one moved, keeping their eyes locked on each other, as the voice continued. 
“Central Command has contacted us with a top priority message.  The Alliance is encroaching on Aquataine, and we have been ordered to mobilize our resources to secure that planet.  All fighting units and support personnel will immediately prepare for travel.  All officers will report immediately to the bridge; all other personnel will go to their quarters and pack their gear.”

The Lieutenant straightened his uniform. 
“Well.  It seems our tour of the station has been postponed.”  He pulled a slip of paper from his breast pocket, wrote on it, and handed it to Cosette.  “Here.  When you get free, give me a call.  I’ll finish our tour.”  He glared at Rasora.  “You may feel free to guide this cadet safely home.”  He shouldered past Rasora, pushing him into the wall.  Rasora clenched his fist but kept his mouth shut. 

When the Lieutenant was gone, Rasora turned to
Cosette.  “You’ve been drinking.”

“
I was just trying to remember where they made that wine they served.”

“
Exactly how many glasses did you have?”

She shrugged. 
“I don’t know.  Three?”

“
That stuff is stronger than wine; it's fermented ambrosia.  I tried some in the kitchen.  If you had three glasses of it, you'll probably pass out before we get you to your quarters.”

“
We were having a lovely evening.  Why did you have spoil it?”

He grabbed her arm. 
“This way, cadet.  If you pass out, I’m going to drag you by your hair.”

She took him seriously. 
Putting her hand on her head, she snapped, “Don’t you dare!  I can get to my quarters by myself!”

“
Can you?”

“
You bet you I can.  I just go down there and turn left…wait…where am I?”

“
At the officer’s quarters.”

I
shouldn’t
have
eaten
all
that
meat
. 
Or
drunk
all
that
wine
.

“
I go left and then…”

“
Yes?”

“
No, I need to go that way.”  She pointed.  “Fast.  There’s a bathroom that way and I’m going to be sick.”

*

She stuffed her ill-fitting work uniforms into a patched duffel bag while Rasora sat on her cot.  She felt horrible.  She had emptied her stomach, which hurt, and she was clumsy and not thinking clearly.  All she wanted to do was to lie down and sleep and instead she had to pack her gear. “I still don’t know why you’re so upset.”

“
I can’t believe it.  That officer gets you drunk and takes you to his quarters, and you still think he was just being kind to you?”

“
It sounds terrible when you put it that way, but it wasn’t like that.”

“
Wasn’t it?”

Wasn’t
it
? 
Was
that
why
they
were
laughing
at
me
? 
Everyone
else
was
just
sipping
their
drinks
. 
What
had
the
lieutenant
said
–
you
look
drowsy
,
come
to
my
quarters
? 

“
Okay,” she admitted, “maybe I was a bit stupid.”

“
No, you were a lot stupid.  Big-time stupid.  You’ve got all sorts of knowledge crammed into that pretty little head and no experience with life.  You’re a babe in the woods surrounded by ravening carnivores.”

“
How do I know I can trust you?”

He sat upright
and tapped her breastbone.  “Good.  That’s the right way to think.  If you can remember that one thing, don’t trust anyone unless they give you a reason to trust them.  Taking you to dinner is absolutely not a reason to trust someone.”

“
Shouldn’t you be packing your stuff?”

“
I don’t own anything.  I have nothing to pack.  Well, that’s not true, technically.”  He waved his arms.  “They made me responsible for some work clothes and shave gear and the like.  I suppose I should bring them along, but they belong to the Union.”

“
What do you mean, you don’t own anything?”

“
It’s a long story and if I told you now, I’d just have to tell you again tomorrow.  Look, knowing the military, once you’re packed you can lie down and rest until they begin boarding the transport.  Nothing happens as fast as they plan.”

She nodded. 
“I’ll try to be smarter.”  She grabbed the last of her underclothes to stuff into the bag, and felt something heavy.  She unrolled her underclothes to find some large gold rings.  “What in the world are these doing here?”

“
Those are yours.  You left them in a van.”

“
They are?  But this is gold!”  She held up one heavy ring with wonder.  It was separated at one point, as though cut with a knife.

“
Keep them in your bag, deep inside.  I’ll explain how you got them, later.  Or maybe someday you’ll remember.”

T
ears came to her eyes as she rolled the rings in her underclothes and pushed them into the bag.  “What if I never remember?”

“
You will.  Don’t lose faith.  You’ve got a good mind in that head of yours.  It will recover.”  He tousled her hair as he left the room.  “Just don’t trust any officers.”

She brushed her hair back in place with her fingers after he left. 
I
won’t
trust
any
cadets
,
either
.  She collapsed on the narrow bunk and was instantly asleep.

*

She walked gingerly as she led Rasora through the corridors to the detention center.  Her head hurt, loud noises made her wince, and she still felt sick. 

He had been right about there being no hurry. 
Hours had passed without the order to move out.  The black woman shared a rumor that they were receiving conflicting reports from high command, that the battle was already won, the battle was lost, they were needed elsewhere, they needed to remain where they were.  Everyone seemed to accept the confusion as normal.

Rasora told
Cosette that he needed to take some food to an Alliance prisoner, a man of high rank, and that regulations said there needed to be two cadets at all times when working with the prisoner.  He asked Cosette to accompany him.  “That way I can kill two birds with one stone.”

“
Kill me first.”  She pressed her hands against her pounding skull.  She led the way because she knew the station layout; Rasora carried the food and she held her head together.  “These are the detention rooms.” 

He checked the note on the food container. 
“Room number three.  Remember, you stay in the hallway.”  He walked to the third door and opened it.

“
It’s unlocked?”  Then she remembered.  “Of course it's unlocked.  The prisoner has a bracelet.  He can’t leave the room.” 

She knew about bracelets from the station specifications for detention centers, how a prisoner couldn’t go beyond a certain distance from the key or
the prisoner would get brutally shocked.  In this case, the key was built into the back of the cell. 
I
can’t
imagine
what
it
must
be
like
,
to
be
able
to
walk
away
but
knowing
that
if
you
did
you’d
be
electrocuted
. 
I
don't
think
I
could
bear
it
.