Stepping Up (27 page)

We orbit the structure a few times.  We could land on it,
but I’m not convinced doing so is safe.  But we can hover close enough to step
from the vehicle to the roof, so we move to a parking hover. Jones slips aside
to let Meeka into the driver’s seat.  She moves the vehicle to a spot over the
building, about two meters above the deck.  Jonesy drops down, rolling to let
his body absorb the shock.  He jumps up and down a few times, then moves to the
door and peeks into the top floor.  “Nobody here.” He shouts. “Seems solid
enough.  Come on over.”

I hold Gwen’s hands and lower her over the GMV.  As I let
go, Jones catches her. Then it’s my turn.  Two meters is not a horrible
distance, but it can sting, so Jones catches me as well.  Meeka moves the
gemvee into an orbit pattern to maintain surveillance.  My plan is to search
the building from the top down.  Shawna calls to tell me we have maybe two and
a half hours of daylight left.  I do not want to be here after dark.  We make
our way through the trap door to the top level.

It makes sense to me that the top floor would house the
telescope, but there isn’t one here.  Nor is there any sign there ever has
been.  Instead, centered in the room is a huge round table, slightly concave
upwards.  It makes me think of a big salad bowl or soup plate. In the ceiling
are twelve holes about four inches in diameter, evenly spaced around the
circumference of the room.  The question is: Are they to let light in or vision
out? The walls are covered with endless streams of numbers and symbols.

“I don’t know why in the nine hells the Old Man doesn’t send
Aria on these trips. She could process all of this data in ten seconds,” Jonesy
whines.

“Remind me when we get back to the ship,” I say to him, “I
didn’t bring any NSAIDs, muscle relaxers, or tampons with me.” 
That shut
him up.

Gwen speaks, “People talk to Kretor from here. Kretor
listens and replies. We are in the Baroon System. Two hundred sectors rimward
of Ramaris.”

I make careful note of Gwen’s statement. 
That would make
this more of a temple than an observatory.
“Do you have any reason to
believe that Kretor knows—or is concerned—about us?”

“I don’t know. But they believe Kretor knows everything, so
it’s a safe assumption.”

“I’m betting that when the sun goes down, star light hits
this table, and charts are drawn or compared accordingly.  But we have what we
came for. We know where we are.  All right, let’s get out of here.  I have all the
faith in the world in Meeka’s ability as a pilot, but I’m not comfortable with
stepping off the roof onto the gemvee, or with Jonesy tossing us up to it. 
Unless anyone has a better idea, it looks like we go down fifteen flights. 
Jonesy, take the lead, Gwen follow him, and I’ll bring up the rear.  Meeka, did
you copy?”

“I copy. We have a problem, Boss. Onboard sensors detect a
large vehicle approaching fast from the south. You need to beat feet out of
there. I can tell it’s armed with at least a heavy laser.”

“Team Leader, Mother Hen.” Aria says on my headset,  “Get
moving and take a heading of 004.7. Avoid that APC.” 
Thanks, Aria
.
Armored Personnel Carrier vs. Gravity Manipulation Vehicle is not a contest.

“Working on it.  If you have a meteor you could throw at it
to slow it a bit, that would be fabulous.”

I turn to Jones and Gwen.  “Okay, team, basically free
rappel.  No more sightseeing.  Get down these stairs as fast as your legs will
carry you.”

“Meeka, how much time do we have?”

“About thirty seconds.”

We’ll never make it like this.  I’m going to manipulate
someone, I hope she’ll forgive me.
  I mutter loud enough for Gwen to hear
“I hope that vehicle stops; if they find us they will want to hurt us.”

“Why would they hurt us?”

Good, she heard me. 
That’s no mean feat considering
our boots banging on these wooden stairs.  “Because they don’t know us.  People
that send armed vehicles to welcome visitors tend to hurt people they don’t
know.  I’m not saying it’s right, I’m just saying it happens.  Remember when
you said the Captain is afraid of you? It’s the same thing.  He doesn’t know
much about you like they don’t know anything about us.”

Meeka is on the COM.  “Looks like we get a reprieve. That
APC just stopped, and there is no power signature coming from it anymore. 
There is plenty of heat though, and I see a smoke plume.” We emerge from the
observatory to see our GMV in a one-meter hover.  We squint against the
thruster wash or ‘dustup.’ Jonesy scoops Gwen up and in, and then helps me in
before hopping aboard himself. Meeka firewalls the engine, gaining altitude and
velocity.

Shawna breaks squelch:  “Take up a heading of double ought
six, cupids two AGL.”  Meeka steers to the new course, rising to an altitude of
200 feet above ground level.

“Tally ho!”  Meeka sees the cutter.  Aria must have given
them an order to get packed up and airborne.  The back ramp is open.

“Cutter velocity is one fifty miles per,” Shawna reports.
“My bubbles are level.”

Meeka counts off the distance as we approach.  I give Gwen a
wink and a smile.  She blows me a kiss.  The GMV enters the cutter.  When Meeka
chops the throttle to zero, the vehicle settles to the deck plates.  There’s a
metallic clang as the magnetic locks grab the gemvee before it can slide back
out the cargo door.  Dan closes the cargo door and Shawna yells, “Hang on!” and
sends the cutter towards orbit.  Once we are safe, Meeka begins to shake.

I put a hand on her shoulder and say, “That was pretty
exciting.”

Jonesy snores loudly, mocking my assessment. As Meeka’s head
whips around to glare at him, he winks at her and grins.

The flight to
Night Searcher
is blissfully boring. 
We spend the time getting out of wet swimwear and into work clothes and
generally preparing to be back aboard.  Aria arrives in the small craft bay as
we are securing the cutter. “Sonia, report to the Captain immediately,” she
says.

“Right away.” I am going to the toilet first!

I give my report to Aria while we walk from the Small Craft
bay.  “According to Gwen, we are in the Baroon system, double check, but I
think that’s on the order of two-hundred sectors rimward of Ramaris.  I’m going
to dump my gear and report to the Captain.”  I make the turn to my stateroom,
and Aria continues to the bridge. 

Minutes later, I knock on the Captain’s door.  “Chief
Engineer MacTaggert reporting, sir.”

“Sonia, please come in. It pleases me that you live. So, we
are extremely rimward of Ramaris. We will need to find a course back to Atlas.
If I am to die, I want to die at home. So, did the child do anything unusual on
the trip?”

“With respect, sir, ‘unusual’ can be applied to almost
everything she does.  She sensed the religious attitude of the populace towards
an entity she called ‘Kretor.’ She determined our location.  I have no
objective evidence to corroborate, but I’d stake my reputation on its accuracy.
And I think she stopped an armored vehicle closing on us dead in its tracks. 
We had some pretty tense moments, and she never lost her composure.  I’m quite
pleased with the way she behaved.  I’m pleased with all of them, but with
her—as a child—a little more so.  And on a purely personal level, I really
enjoyed spending time with her.  Will it be possible for her to move back in
with me in the near future? I have missed her terribly.”

The captain stands and pulls his robe around his body, like
he is bracing to go out into a cold wind, which would be quite a trick on a
starship. He walks to his view screen and stares at the star field, as if he’s
gazing through a window. “Sonia, I have become very powerful. I can do things
with my mind that to anyone else would be considered magic. I command one of
the most powerful vessels in known space.  But I am a tick on a Rison bull’s
backside compared to one of her kind.  Aria made a snap—and truthfully, ill
considered—decision in making Gwendolyn your ‘daughter.’  I would have
preferred she consult me, but what’s done is done.  However, I think in the
fullness of time, we will see it to have been a good decision though, the right
one.  I return her to your care. But please, be careful. And by all means
continue to use Anya for all her schooling and care when you are otherwise
engaged. A ‘nanny’ I believe was the old term.  Anya is yours, too. I have
plenty of concubines and slaves. Dismissed.” I nod and leave.

Aria meets me in the hallway. “Well, I guess that went
well,” she says.

“Better than I would have expected:  I have my daughter
back. I just hope the ‘having’ is as satisfying as the ‘wanting.’”

“I am sure it will be,” Aria replies.  “You have missed her,
have you not?”

“I really have.  Granted I’ve only known her a handful of
months, but when I saw her playing in the psi lab, when I heard her
telepathically call to me, that was when I realized just how terribly I had
missed her.  Not brushing her hair in the mornings, not tucking her in at
night.  Not laughing when she unintentionally embarrassed someone.”

“On another point, your relationship with the Captain is
improving as well, is it not?”

“It is; I think we’ve really established a rapport.  The
strange part is, and I think I’ve told you this before, for my first two weeks
aboard I was scared to death of him.  Now I feel nothing but compassion for
him, bordering on pity.  But I know better.”

“I am told that is a common response.  Of course, compassion
is not an emotion I have been programmed to emulate.”  We chit chat for a
while, but she has to see the Captain, and I have a department to run.

We’re still in orbit, so I have everyone gather in the
Transit drive room. It’s much quieter there and there’s plenty of room. 
“Everything is going to remain status quo for the moment with the exception of
Viggo.  You’ll be assisting on the armor project until you’ve demonstrated
proficiency.  At that time, I’ll turn the project over to you, and I’ll be
going back into the Propulsion Engineering pool.  On an as needed basis, of
course.  There will naturally be a salary associated therewith.  What does that
mean to Ginny and Gorb?  Gorb you’ll be back by yourself for a while, Ginny, you
need to be available to back him up from time to time.  As will Viggo.  And of
course in the event of a major mishap, we all come together and get greasy. 
For those who didn’t know or haven’t guessed, I’ve named Ginny as the Assistant
Lead Engineer.  In my absence, she’s the boss.  Any questions or concerns?”
There are none.  Gorb smiles and claps.  He is happy for Ginny.  The other team
leaders nod; my department is back in harmony; any ill will towards Ginny is
either gone or is on its way out.

When he walks away, I hear Gorb’s slogan: “Everybody loves
Sonia. But ‘Gorb loves to help,’ everyone says it, so it must be true.”

I head to the LEO to do some of that Chief Engineer
‘administrivia.’  While I’m there, I make an appointment to see Anya and Gwen
for supper at 1800.  It’s difficult, but I manage to keep myself busy until
then.

Anya admits me to the apartment for supper.  Gwen is
seated at the table, she smiles when I walk in. “You look happy,” she says.

“I am. I have what I hope is good news. The Captain has
decided to return you to my care.  I hope you are as pleased with that as I
am.  But I’m not interested in turning your world upside down again, so I will
leave the final decision to you.”

“I understand, Chief MacTaggert. I will be the best I can.” 
Not the warm response I was hoping for, but it’s a start.

“I know you will, sweetheart.  And when we make mistakes—and
we will—we’ll get through it. Do you want to stay in this room or move back in
with me? I’ll let you decide.”

“Anya provides my activity environments as directed by the
Captain. But I would like to have a ‘home’ to go to at night. So my answer is I
would prefer to move back in with you.” The rest of our meal is filled with
banter about wormholes, hyperspace, and the elastic properties of modeling
clay.

After supper, Anya begins to clear the plates away.  When
she’s finished, I send Gwen to pack up whatever she wants to take with her.
There’s no reason she can’t stay over with me tonight, and we’ll do the
official move tomorrow.

While she’s doing so, I discuss future arrangements with
Anya. “The Captain has also given me your services. I would like you to
continue on in your current capacity as teacher and mentor.  The sad news is
that being a primary staff member on this ship keeps me hopping.  So I don’t
really have the time, much less the knowledge or wisdom, to shape Gwen the way
she needs; I will depend on your help with that.  I want you to fill the daily
grind. The time I’m off duty and with her will be your down time. I need you to
be on call in case of emergency, of course.”  Both of us agree that, given the
circumstances, this is about as good a situation as can be hoped for until Gwen
is able to join the school.  “Two of the words the Captain used when we were
talking about you were ‘slave’ and ‘concubine.’  I don’t know—nor do I
care—what your relationship with him is, but I don’t need you for either of
those.  I’m more than happy to compensate you for being Gwen’s
au pair
. 
Is twenty-thousand annually enough?”

“Thank you, Ma’am. But whether you call me ‘slave’ or not, I
am still catalogued as your property. And I don’t really have any need for
money. How about a favor instead? Can you put me in contact with that pilot,
Shawna Landers? I would be most grateful.”

“Why yes, I can.  I’ll give her your perCom code and let the
two of you work things out. Is that okay?  And you may think of yourself as
‘property’ but I do not.  If you’re not an employee, then I suppose you just
have to be a friend of the family.”

“How very nice of you! Thank you, ma’am. I mean, ‘Sonia.’”

“Not a problem. I’ll call Shawna while I’m waiting for
Gwen.”

Shawna answers her perCom on the second ring.  “Hey, Baby. 
How they swayin’?”

“I found a hottie who wants your body.  Is that a problem
for you?”

“A hottie? Hmm, let me think about it.  There, I’ve thought
about it. Hells to the no! Not a problem at all!” I pass on Anya’s code.
“Thanks for the hot tip.  I’ll talk to you later.”  The connection breaks.

And Anya’s perCom trills.  Girlfriend has fast fingers.

Gwen comes around the corner with a knap sack on her back
and her teddy bear under her arm as Anya answers the call.  Gwen turns her
empty stare on me and asks, “Will Shawna and Anya have lesbian sex? And what’s
a ‘big honking strap on?’”

Anya halts in mid-sentence, her face as red as a heating
coil.  I take Gwen by the hand as we wave and head for the door.

Gwen starts to choke up. “I did it again, didn’t I?”

Anya reaches out to her, her face very red. She says, “Hang
on a second,” into her perCom before laying it on the table.  She hugs Gwen
fiercely.  “You did nothing wrong, Gwendolyn.  I will see you soon, probably at
breakfast.  You are trying to learn—never apologize for that.”  Gwen returns
her hug.  Anya kisses her on the cheek and we leave, taking the lift to B deck.

“Okay, Peanut, the answer to your first question is ‘I don’t
know, but probably.’  To your second question, ask me again in about ten
years.  You are free to ask me anything.  I mean that—no limits. But there are
some things that are best discussed in private.  Usually, anything involving
sex or relationships between people is in that category.”  The doors to the
lift open and the four people aboard move around to make room for us.  “We’ll
finish this in the room.”  We catch up over trivial things on the walk to
my—our—stateroom.  When we get there, while she is putting her things away, I
continue the explanation I started previously.  While I would never discuss
human sexuality in such frank terms with a human child, Gwen is not a human
child.

“I see. When will I know what I am?”

“Well, in the first place you should have many years before
you need to worry about that.  We’re guessing you’re about six human years
old.  You don’t need to be considering sex until you are at least in your late
teens.  The Captain tells me you are going through puberty, which is the
transition from ‘child’ to ‘adult.’  Your mind is progressing, altering
itself.  Your body will do the same thing.  You will grow taller, your hips
will widen, and your breasts will grow.  So you don’t need to have your
sexuality worked out before then.  But to answer your question, there’s no way
of pointing to a calendar and saying ‘by here.’  But from now until you die, if
you are asked, just politely remind whoever is asking that it’s none of their
business.  That’s one of the reasons our residences have doors and
curtains—because it’s a private matter. Your sexuality has no bearing on your
value as a person.”

She looks away, apparently processing what I said.  “Ok, I think
I understand. We’ll talk more about it later.

“Good.  So, for more mundane issues, do you need help with
homework or anything?”  I ask.

“Homework… let’s see… yes, please. Astrophysics, Chapter
Twelve.  Anya wants me to write a fourteen-hundred word essay on Magnetic
Polarity Shift in Wormholes.”

“And it’s due…”

“In the morning.”

“And it was assigned…”

“Two weeks ago.”

“And you’ve done…”

“Nothing.”

I believe student procrastination is a universal
constant.
  I’ll help her with her research, grammar, and the mechanics of
the paper as much as she’ll let me.  I won’t write it for her. After three
hours, I turn out the lights.  She has most of the work done.  Her rough draft
is good. 
As good as I…did she probe
my
mind for
her
paper? Oh
that’s so not fair! And I can’t
prove
it!

The next morning, Anya comes dancing into the chow hall,
higher than if she’d inhaled a cubic kilometer of helium. I look bleary-eyed at
her over the brim of my steaming coffee mug. “Good morning. I trust you had a
pleasant evening?”

She kisses Gwen on top of her head and is aiming for my
lips, but I turn and she gets my cheek. “Thanks, Sonia!!” She looks at Gwen for
a moment. “Uh…for the gift, it was the best present ever.”

Gwen turns alabaster eyes to Anya. “She didn’t give you a gift.
She set you up with Shawna. I know, I know, don’t say the rest in public.” She
turns back to her grits, eggs, and bacon.  She’s not exactly bright-eyed and
bushy-tailed either.  Typically, she eats with certain gusto; it’s strictly
mechanical this morning.

To Anya, I say: “You’re welcome.” To Gwen I say: “You’re
learning.” To any gods listening, I say: “It’s a start.” The wall clock chimes
0730.  “Off you two, the day is starting.”  I kiss Gwen’s cheek. “I’ll take
care of the dishes.”  I pick up our trays for return.

“Are you going to tell Anya about my paper?” 

Anya looks at her suspiciously, shifting her gaze between
the two of us.

“No, I am not. You are.” 

Gwen sighs heavily.

“Is there something you need to tell me, Gwendolyn?” I hear
Anya ask as I leave the room.

At the next staff meeting, our situation is laid out for
the department heads.
Night Searcher
begins preparations for the long
journey back to the Ramaris Sector. The Captain lays out the plan.  Now that
the navigators know where the ship is, they have calculated a course, with two
stops planned along the way. The first is Yorktown in The Solomon Reaches, then
on to Baetus in Isis’s Veil, then we will enter sector 031, the Ramaris
sector.  The whole trip is projected to take nine months. The intervening stops
are projected to last two weeks each. That should be enough time to replenish
our food banks, revitalize air and water, and get some off-ship time to prevent
homicidal cabin fever.  Aria will post a summary of this to the casCom pages. For
any who wish it, a complete text version will be available for download. We’ll
also have to find a way to keep the engines running without access to dry dock
facilities.  That’s going to be a challenge.

Meals and rations are cut by one-fourth until the pantries
can be restored. No one is happy, but everyone understands.  Once we can go
grocery shopping in Yorktown though, that restriction should be lifted or at
least eased.