“Okay, just give me a couple ofminutes to check you over.”
He checked her chart, thereadings on the machines beside her and ran a scanner over her.
“All good,” he smiled.
He peeled the wired tapes fromher temples – how did she not even know they were there? – and unclipped thefinger clamp. The heart monitor stopped beeping and flatlined. Kat turned itoff.
McReidy quickly looked overherself to see if there was anything else she was plugged into that she’d beenunaware of.
“Nothing else,” Dunlop told heras he moved to the intercom on the wall. “Sick bay to the bridge. I’ve justcleared Lieutenant Commander McReidy for duty.”
John wasn’t letting her anywherenear the bridge. “It’s too late today. Tell her to get some rest and I’ll seeher in the morning.”
Although McReidy could see thesense in his words, she still felt it was just an excuse.
* * *
Apparently, it wasn’t too late inthe day to recall other crew to the bridge.
Giacomo had made himself at homeon Lorraine’s lounge. She lay on her back along the length of it, using hislap as a pillow. One arm curved around her as he held the book where they couldboth see it.
Every now and then, he would pullthe book away with his free hand and flick it shut, keeping his thumb inside atthe appropriate page, and quiz her. He tended to cheat, his questions leadingaway from what she had just read and into the next section. It infuriated her.
Since she claimed to have readthe book at least a dozen times, she should have known what the nextprogression would be. He was trying to get her thinking to advanced problemsrather than what was written in front of her.
She seemed to be distracted, herattention more on studying Giacomo than anything else. He gently reminded herthat flirting with the examiner was not necessarily going to guarantee a pass.
She looked up at him with darkteasing eyes. His heart skipped a beat as they turned serious, revealing hertrue intent. He bent his head to kiss her. The sound of her voice as shewhispered his name was drowned out by the commander’s over his communicator.
“Giacomo!”
Giacomo’s head stilled. “Here,sir.”
“Get back up here before I sendsomeone looking for you.”
“Yes, sir.” His forehead droppedgently onto Lorraine’s as he sighed in frustration. “I have to go,” hewhispered.
The irritation of the commander’stiming reflected in Giacomo’s voice. The smell of her hair was in his nostrils– and would probably stay there for the rest of the day. He lifted his headreluctantly.
Lorraine sat up a little,allowing him to move, then snuggled into the spot where he had been. He passedher the book.
“Later,” she told him quietly.
He nodded, trying to hide hisdisappointment. She drew her knees up and rested the book against them. Heleft her to continue studying on her own. At least, she might be able to getsomething done.
* * *
When John left the bridge thatnight, he had a crew in charge that he could trust. He’d sent Tan andHumphries for a break and had them back now with Hartford. Giacomo andGillespie, he wasn’t leaving either of them in charge – or alone. Not yet.
He headed to the bar for answers.
It was almost empty. Most of thecrew were either on duty, in sick bay or resting off whatever had affectedthem.
Soghra wiped down the bar,polished a few glasses and resigned himself to the fact that the commanderwasn’t leaving without answers. He took a glass and bottle of rum from beneaththe bar and walked to John’s table.
John watched him put the glassdown uncap the bottle and pour the golden brown liquid.
“What was it?” he asked.
Soghra took the empty seatopposite and shrugged. “Merely a child.”
“That’s not answering myquestion.”
“It is as much as you need toknow.”
“No,” John ground out, his griptightening on his glass. “It got onto my ship undetected and took over most ofmy crew. Don’t tell me I don’t need to know.”
Soghra relented. “They are an ancientrace who drift the galaxy. They are known to some as Nebola. To the majority,they are not known.”
“And?” John persisted.
“They affected your crew becausethey can affect matter. The reason they are not known is because they preferto interact with matter directly rather than the living beings that matter hasbecome.”
“Yet this one chose to.”
Soghra shrugged. “A child’scuriosity.”
John leaned back in his chair andtook a mouthful of rum, not entirely satisfied by the answer.
“A handful of living beings, itplays with. The millions of living beings raging around your system when itarrived…” Soghra shook his head. “Too much for it to even consider.”
That explained why those who’dbeen sick were unaffected.
“Now tell me how you got pastNorth without him even seeing you.”
The tiniest smirk crossedSoghra’s face. “He wasn’t looking for me.”
Soghra’s attention was caught bysomething behind John and he nodded. “Someone else wishes to speak to you.”
John turned to look over hisshoulder. McReidy!
“I thought I told her…” hegrowled under his breath. He downed his drink and slid the empty glass acrossthe table.
Soghra obeyed and poured himanother drink. He capped the bottle, left it on the table and headed back tothe bar.
John heard McReidy’s footsteps,felt her at his elbow. “Can we talk?”
Chewing her out now, like he feltlike doing, wasn’t going to achieve anything. He glanced at his watch. “Iguess I can make time.”
“Get any answers?” she askedcasually as she sat down.
“A few.” He sipped his drink.
She might have wanted to talk,but she was avoiding it.
“Now you know what it feels liketo have your ship stolen from underneath you.”
“Yes, but I didn’t shoot you, orthrow you in the brig,” he countered.
“If you had’ve, you would neverhave gotten off that moon.”
“If I had’ve, I wouldn’t havebeen court martialled.”
She was about to protest.
“All right,” he conceded. “Istill would have been court martialled… But you really put me in it withCaptain Barrett.”
“It wasn’t deliberate.”
John knew that.
“What was it like?” he venturedcautiously. Although he wouldn’t discuss it with the rest of the crew, deepdown he really wanted to understand what had happened.
“It was… kind of… strange. Iknew what I was doing but I couldn’t stop myself. Somehow, I didn’t reallywant to. If was as if whatever
