“He's used to only taking care of one person and the ship. I think he's trying.”
“I think he's too busy trying to understand everyone at once, that's what's got him running in circles. Besides, he's probably still trying to adjust after Pandem. I wish Jason had gotten a better look at him.”
“He saw enough to determine I wasn't a danger to the crew,” Lewis objected.
“Lewis, privacy mode. Please,” Ayan requested.
“We finally find a place to land that isn't a sucking mire, things start quieting down, and everyone wants to be alone.” An artificial click sounded after Lewis' parting comment and the words; PRIVACY MODE drifted across the large hologram.
“Well, he's one of the most interesting artificial intelligences I've ever seen. I'll give him that,” Ayan said as she inspected one of the other ships nearby. It was a snubbed nosed, six deck ship with as many patches as portholes.
“I'm actually starting to like him. Don't tell him that though.”
“But you argue with him, often,” Ayan pointed out with a chuckle.
“Alice was the same for a while when she was in early development. Once she was sure I wouldn't wipe her if she challenged me. Then again, she wasn't installed in a ship, but on my comm.”
“But we can trust Lewis to do what he has to, right?”
“I think so. I was just on the bridge. He's scanning the area constantly, we'll know the instant something crosses our perimeter.”
“Or when Minh gets back?”
“I think he's as anxious as we are, I'm sure we'll know the moment he picks anything up. Nothing agitates an AI like a question they can't answer.”
“I think everyone's thinking of the Triton tonight. We left so many people behind.”
Jake chuckled quietly. “Right now everyone’s talking about the dressing down their Security Chief just got from their Senior Commander.”
“Oh, right. Was going to bring that up.”
“Well, Stephanie’s pissed.”
“Chewed your ear off about it?”
“No, she was in the military, she’s been put in her place before. She let on that she’s sore that you attacked her competency in front of so many people though.”
“Looking back, that was going a little too far. You know how it works though, someone steps too far out of line and you put them down so everyone can watch them get back up. It’s in the training.”
“She knows that, but we’re not in a military unit. A lot of people will take that at face value.”
“So, what do I do?” Ayan shrugged, too tired to let the conversation become a disagreement.
“Just give her an opportunity to show everyone you trust her abilities. Any doubt will fade as soon as they see you have faith in her.”
“I’ll watch for opportunities, and I do trust her, you know. It’s just strange, she’s always distanced herself until just recently.”
“Well, I’m just glad we have time for gossip. We'd be in worse shape if we were still in the Wastes.”
“So you're happy with the deal I made to get us this space?” Ayan asked finally. It was something she wanted to know but didn't know how to until then. She felt his hands on her shoulders, his fingers kneading her tense muscles. “Ah, that's heaven,” she sighed.
“We didn't have much to trade, so you offered what we can deliver right now.”
She thought about his answer for a moment. It wasn't an affirmative or negative, but a sentiment that fit neatly between. His thumbs worked the base of her neck and she almost forgot about the nagging question. Almost. “But are you happy about it?”
His hands stopped moving. A long moment of silence followed. “We're a lot better off than we were when we first landed. I don't think I could have done any better.”
“So you're pleased with how it turned out?” She pressed.
“It was the best decision for everyone, so yes, I'm glad you got us here.” His hands went back to work.
It was the small victory she was looking for, even though she would never admit she was seeking validation, even from him. A more difficult question remained, and instead of sitting on it, letting it fester, she just asked; “How do you know Patrizia?”
His hands didn’t stop kneading, a good sign, or a sign that he knew the question was coming and already had his escape plan ready. “We did a few jobs for her three years ago. Maybe four.”
“She guessed I was the one who gave you the white scarf you used to wear.” It was a daring move, offering more detail in hopes of getting extra information without directly asking. “Seems like she had been wondering who gave that to you for a while.”
“I remember her asking. I couldn’t tell her because I didn’t know who gave it to me at the time. To be honest, I assumed it was from a wife I couldn’t remember. Instead of making something up, I just ignored the question.”
“Oh,” Ayan said quietly, too distracted to enjoy the shoulder rub Jake was giving her.
The silence grew thick, and Jacob’s hands stopped. “Did something happen while you were dealing with her?”
“No, well, it’s only Stephanie seemed so opposed to dealing with her.”
“That’s because the last time we dealt with Patrizia she told us we were liberating a political prisoner from the low security wing of a prison, when it turned out we were rescuing her girlfriend from a prison term she earned. She still has a warrant out for her in that system.”
“Girlfriend?” Ayan boggled.
“I couldn’t make it up if I tried. They put her away for code breaking and we managed to get her out, then she tells us the whole story about why she was there and that Patrizia was pretty much her sugar momma.”
Ayan burst out laughing, more from relief than at the story itself.
Jake’s hands went back to her shoulders and continued their work, laughing along with her. “Guess it is pretty funny now. Still, we’ll have to double check every bit of information we get from her.”
“And everything. She gave me a very expensive ring as a keepsake. I scanned it, there’s nothing inside, and it registers as about seventy years old. Not something you buy in a backstreet bazaar.” She said, holding up the gold and platinum lion’s head ring. “Think she fancies me?”
“If she does, she’ll have a fight on her hands,” Jake replied with a playful growl.
With a few gestures on her comm unit she selected a different shape for her vacsuit that left her shoulders bare and lowered the neckline significantly. He stopped a moment as he clothing complied with her order then continued, his bare hands on her bare skin. They felt harder than she expected, but they were warm, strong.
The thought that her outfit modification could be seen as some kind of a reward flicked through her mind and made her blush furiously. It didn't seem to occur to him, or if it did he didn't seem to mind. He was a deft shoulder and neck masseuse, and she couldn't help but put her head down and relax. “How is everyone settling in?” She asked quietly.
“We had to evacuate the Samson. About a third are leaving, setting out for Port Rush City proper. The rest are settling into the other ships. Things seemed to calm down once they saw the food and cots. Stephanie and Alaka are keeping things pretty orderly.”
“A third, that's a lot of people moving on.”
“I expected it. We'll probably see half gone by morning, especially if there's an uplink to the Core World Banks available in Port Rush.”
“From what I saw today, there must be. The transit centre we passed through was busy, the busiest I've ever seen. How are their spirits?”
“The ones who are moving on? A lot of the people from Enreega took a moment to thank Stephanie and I on their way out, even Alaka, who wasn't there. Except for Edward. He had to make a grand stand about informing whoever he could find about where we are so they could take us in for the bounty. Listening to him you'd think he was kidnapped and forced into hard labour.”
Ayan found the astrophysicist half frustrating and half amusing. Most of the people she'd met in his field were patient, reasonable and high thinking problem solvers. He was anything but, and even though she never wanted to deal with him herself, watching the drama at a distance was sometimes entertaining when she could get past the
