“I can't say for sure, he could have been after info or covering his tracks. We'll have to look for holes in surveillance records, new additions to our records, dummy files meant to stand in for something they deleted. None of it is anything I'm specialized in.”
“Here's hoping Captain found a data analyst on Pandem,” one of the soldiers with her remarked.
Stephanie heard the emergency bulkhead doors outside in the hallway lower and a medical alarm sound. She was out of the security offices in seconds. Jake and Alice were face down in the hallway in front of the re-sealed bridge doorway. “We need medical up on Command deck right now, the Captain is injured,” she said hurriedly as she quickly closed the distance between her and the very still pair on the deck.
“They're already on their way, Captain Valance told us we'd be needed. For clarity, which Captain is in need of care?”
“Both, hurry.”
The last of the refugees were waiting to load in one of the large express freight lifts. All those in need of more urgent care had already been moved to the infirmary. Stephanie's security teams made quick work of the potential mayhem. They seemed well practiced at handling rescue operations. Ayan, Oz, Minh and Jason waited at the head of the group for the lift.
The doors opened to reveal Laura and several security personnel. The look of shock and joy on her face when she saw the foursome was utter. “Oh my God,” she whispered as she shakily stepped out of the bulk express car and was taken into Jason's arms.
She wasn't one given to emotional outbursts, but the relief of seeing her husband after so much time and difficulty combined with the unbelievable sight of her best friend, the very one she had attended a funeral for less than two months before was overwhelming and as she looked up from Jason's shoulder to see her again, standing there, smiling brightly, healthy and teary eyed she had to ask; “Is it?”
Ayan stepped forward and put her arm around Laura's shoulders; “Doctor Anderson and my mother, they used a scan taken before your wedding,” she grinned, misty eyed.
Jason pulled her into their embrace and Ayan kissed her best friend on the cheek before squeezing. “I don't care how,” Laura managed through her tears of joy. “I don't care how.”
Minh stretched his arms around all three of them with mirthful enthusiasm as they shared the relief and joy of friends reunited.
“Why is Minh half naked?” Laura managed.
“I have nothing to declare but my underwear!” Minh grinned as he squeezed the trio.
One of the guards, laughing just as hard as everyone else, put a blanket over Minh as she moved past to help the last of the refugees load into the lift and get up to medical.
Triton's Heart
“He's just down there Ma'am,” pointed the security officer that had served as her guide. When he picked her up at her quarters he was caught off guard by her civilian attire and easy manner. That morning had brought good news and she would be meeting important people that day. She wasn't a member of the crew yet, not officially, so she took the opportunity to create a dark violet vacsuit with a broad dipped neckline, loose sleeves and a long skirt that swished as she walked. The whole thing could seal around her in an emergency, but that potential simply wasn't visible, especially since the whole outfit had a stretchy cotton fabric style she enjoyed.
Everyone else aboard was wearing a Triton uniform or an off duty vacsuit that was similar and included their rank, which was marked both with a silver skull on their chest and stripes of one kind or another on their cuffs. Even though Laura had told her she could add both the Triton skull and letters beneath to her clothing she decided not to. It didn't seem right to assume she was a member of the crew, especially since she hadn't been given a position on the ship by anyone or spoken to Jake.
In the three days she had spent aboard she had heard so much about the legendary commanders of the mid-sized carrier. There was Chief Stephanie Vega, mostly known for countering an Eden Fleet boarding action and keeping the peace, Master of the Helm Ashley Lamport, who was at once known as a gifted pilot and as a barrier to everyone trying to qualify to fly a fighter and from what Ayan had seen most people genuinely liked her. She was like the ship darling, turning heads as she went about her business oblivious to the attention. There was Gunnery Sergeant Frost, who had just been demoted by Acting Captain Alice Valent. He had a much darker reputation that involved revenge, public drunkenness and a terribly volatile on and off relationship with the Chief of Security.
Acting Captain Alice Valent was the most fascinating person aboard. Laura had told her the whole story the first night after they arrived. She actually was Jonas Valent's artificial intelligence and after being released into the computer system of the Overlord II she transferred herself into a human body. Two years later she found who she thought was Jonas Valent and rescued him, leaving before she could discover that he was actually a copy built atop a framework. With more than one corporation and government agency after her, she left before that copy could wake up, see her in person and have the memories of Jonas Valent activated. As a result he went on with his life as Jacob Valance, becoming a bounty hunter, repossession agent, privateer and gun for hire. He made the assumption that Alice was his daughter and used his profession to drift through several sectors as he searched.
In the meantime Alice was on the run, taking jobs where she could until she discovered that Jacob had become a kind of folk hero, and she sought him out. She rescued the real Jonas Valent along the way and after he sacrificed himself for the good of the ship she became the First Officer of the Triton, and to anyone who didn't know her or Jake personally, she was known as the Captain's daughter. After leading a desperate capture mission deep inside a Regent Galactic owned solar system she had become very well respected amongst the crew. To the many people aboard she was legend, yet when Ayan herself walked down the halls people reacted with practical reverence.
On her first day aboard the Triton she wore a vacsuit that looked much like the rest of the crewmembers, only grey instead of black. After speaking to Laura about her role it was plain that no one expected her to do anything but rest and take her time in making up her mind, on finding something she wanted to do aboard. Stephanie had been left with instructions to put Oz in charge, so he was busy catching up, learning about the ship, her senior officers and managing the vessel as it travelled through an extended wormhole.
All the while she was accompanied by guards. By order of the Chief of Security there was always an armed guard watching over her. The junior officer's quarters to either side was occupied by guards and there was always one standing at her door, ready to ensure she had anything she needed. She asked why and was told that keeping her safe was priority one. Minh and Jason didn't hear anything about why she was being treated differently, neither of them were being escorted around the ship or watched over.
Laura had a different theory. Captain Jacob Valance was respected, some of the crew were fiercely loyal to him and a few even feared him. She surmised that Ayan was enjoying some of that respect, that Ayan was being treasured, kept safe. It came as a surprise when Laura suggested she go see Chief Engineer Liam Grady, who was an Axiologist, for more answers.
It was entirely strange, but at first Ayan was so tired that she didn't have the energy to object. How people reacted to her was more informative than any information she gleaned from the security personnel. She dressed differently after the first day aboard, choosing more leisurely clothing, going unarmed, but never ill equipped. Her more ornamental, bracelet like command and control unit was always dangling around her wrist. Hers was a more elaborate version that could widen, narrow, become semitransparent or change colour. It looked like it was made of smooth crystal, a gift from the crew of the wormhole ship where she matured. Her attire and guardians drew veiled stares despite the politeness and space she gave everyone. She didn't want to get in the way, after all.
The security officer who was assigned to escort her to engineering at the end of her third day aboard had four and a half bars on his cuffs, marking him as one of the highest ranking officers on board. His name was Taber Radics and he had come aboard with the Aucharian military during the battle for the Triton. When she tried to strike up conversation with him he answered her questions about his home world of Seneschal, the security on the ship, even Engineering Chief Liam Grady. All his answers were polite, she was addressed as Ma'am as though that was equivalent to the rank of Grand Admiral or some kind of Queen, and he always had a smile for her.
At the same time his eyes searched the hallways ahead of them, scanned people carefully from head to tow
