wall of the cell. “I didn't mean I'd sort it just now, maybe after a shower an' such.”
“I meant right now,” Jake said with a crooked grin as he left the cell.
Stephanie stepped inside mere seconds later. “You and Jake have a good talk?” She was in her long coat, combat boots and black vacsuit, ready for her shift but she looked tired.
“Aye, heard about the brawl in the main obi-deck.”
“You should have seen the aftermath, I'm just coming from main observation now.”
“That couldn't a been an easy mornin'.”
“Or night, they woke me up at two, I've been there ever since.”
“Sorry lass, I've made a right mess o' things. Shoulda trusted ye from the start, if anyone knows what kind o' spot Burke left me in, it'd be you.”
“Do you mean that?” Stephanie asked, smiling a little. Her brown eyes were fixed on him.
“Aye.”
She shook her head and chuckled. “For all the cons you've run you're a bad liar.”
Frost stood up and put his hand on her shoulder. “Now don't be difficult, lass.”
The look she gave him could have killed. “Don't be difficult? ” she growled through clenched teeth.
“What I mean ta say is that you need ta give me a chance ta prove myself, that's all.”
“By going on a drunken tear and showing up at my door? Do you realize how it looks when the Chief of security can't control her boyfriend and needs her own team to step in?”
“I'm sorry, that's not somethin' that woulda happened if the old boys were 'round, they'd have kept me level enough to know better or at least have held me down long enough ta find sense.”
“The old boys; you mean Silver, Burke, Carrie and Turner?” Stephanie shot back. “Half of them are dead, the other half turned on you for your bank accounts and left you stranded. They're walking waste.”
Shamus just stood there and stared at her for a moment. The five of them had been running together on and off for years, signing up on the same ships, getting in on the same cons, watching for opportunities and calling each other in when they could.
For the first time since she'd known him it was obvious that she'd actually hurt him. His gentler expression faded and was replaced by something made of stone. He looked away from her; “guess I'll stay off the bottle then. Make it plain to the crew that all this is as much my fault, nothing ta blame you or your men for.” He turned to pick up the spill proof mug from where he'd left it on his bunk.
Stephanie hadn't thought about it, how he didn't have any old friends left. She was the closest thing. They'd always had an easy time together when they were just talking amongst friends in the Samson galley, or stuck in the same bunk room while another area was damaged or under repair. Sure, the physical attraction didn't come for a long time, it took a change of scenery to realize there was chemistry, but of all the Samson crew they had known each other the longest. If he was talking to someone else about old friends, she might have been part of the list he mentioned, or at least she hoped she would be. “Frost, Shamus, I'm sorry,” she said, reaching out to him.
He was quiet for a moment as she put her hands on his large shoulders. “I'm not used ta this, goin' after someone like you and pairin' up. By now I'm usually shaken off an' long gone.”
“I can't seem to shake you,” Stephanie whispered.
Frost turned around and put his hands around her waist. “I'm not right without ye lass.”
She smiled at him and nodded. “I'll give you another chance, just trust me to do what I do best.”
“Aye, luv. I mean; aye, Security Chief Vega,” he said before kissing her.
She kissed him a moment and drew back suddenly. “Oh, God, you need a Denta Tab. Your breath is deadly.”
Shamus laughed and smiled at her toothily. “Haven't been by my quarters yet. Care to come with?”
“I can't, I have to get to the Security Office and you should show up early for duty, spread the news.”
“Spread some punishment 'round, you mean. They'll find out about us soon enough. Rumours get 'round this ship faster than gossip on Stellarnet.”
The pair walked out of the cell, Stephanie making sure to take hold of Frost's hand right in front of the pair of guards on shift. “I thought you'd like to know that the Captain's decided on Burke's punishment.”
“Oh?”
“He's being sent to Altima on Chief Vercelli's recruitment run. They're dropping him off at a charity clinic.”
“That's not much of a punishment.”
“Well, Captain's donating to the clinic, trying to get in their favour so they take our request for a doctor to serve on Triton seriously. Since Burke's injuries are non-critical he'll be waiting for weeks to have body parts regrown and cosmetic procedures done.”
Frost looked around at the brig, all the cells except for his were opaque on the front so he couldn't see who was inside. “Which one is he in?”
“Oh, he's in stasis in medical. Captain put him in personally and told him he'd be dumped in orbit around a sun.”
“And here I was starting to think Captain was goin' soft. Turns out he's just goin' smart.”
Price and Finn watched as Stephanie and Frost came out of the brig and walked down the hall towards the main express car shaft. “You know, it's funny; Frost ended up with the only crew member who could probably kick his butt in a fight,” Finn commented as they took a turn towards the hall leading to the third wormhole generator access point.
“Does it enhance a human's status when they find a powerful mate?” Price asked a matter of factly.
“Not anymore, not that I've seen. Then again, there are a few dozen cultures on any given world, some with mixes of different races. That's not what I meant though. I just find it funny that Steph and Frost are together because they're pretty much equals, all things considered.”
“That's true; in my culture it's popular to try to find a female partner that is greater than yourself.”
“Doesn't that put a lot of pressure on the women?”
“Well, yes, but we generally revere them, and being shape shifters, we concentrate on skills and personality much more than any physical attribute.”
“That makes sense. Is there any attention paid to how well someone can shape shift?”
“Well, yes, there's some, but other redeeming qualities can make up for someone lacking in aptitude,” Price stopped and looked at Finn. “You don't think I lack shape shifting ability, do you?”
Finn looked at him, flushing a little. “No, you're fine.”
“I may not be able to emulate human hair very well, or even maintain a form that is entirely convincing for long, but my speciality has nothing to do with such things.”
“You can change into other things?”
“Well, yes,” Price said, looking irritated. “I'm an abstract.”
“An abstract?”
Price struck a pose with one bent arm outstretched and extended a leg straight out from his hip. In the next instant he became a number of joined shapes and colours, stretching his vacsuit out into unusual hard angles and corners. His head was a collection of oddly joined circles and triangles, some of them mere millimetres in thickness. After a few seconds some of the shapes started turning and changing colours.
“That's the most amazing thing I've ever seen,” Finn boggled.
One of Price's eyes opened, only it was where his shoulder once was. “Thank you, my family always said I was quite proficient, even comical,” the voice came from a mouth Finn couldn't see.
“You do look pretty funny, it's just too amazing to laugh at. How do you keep your balance?”
“I can affect density in some parts of my body.” Agameg began to take regular shape again and after a moment he looked like himself once more. He shot Finn a self satisfied grin.
“Ever hide in plain sight?” Finn asked as they resumed their walk down the hallway.
“Only as a child. Most of us are too shy to play that kind of trick since we'd have to be naked. We might not value the superficial very highly, but most of us are fairly modest.”
“You know, we should talk culture more often, I think I learned more about your people in the last five minutes than I have in the last month. You'd have a blast at Halloween parties.”
“What's a Halloween?”
