Lana followed her advice about slow movements from then on, practicing keeping herself oriented in the direction she was facing as she was led slowly around by the tether. The companion moved the end of it from the loop inside the airlock room to one on the outside of the ship, then closed the outer door.
Not long after that, the inner door opened, and Lana waved through the window as Aiden entered the small room wearing a spacesuit, followed closely by Fix wearing his usual nothing, all gleaming metallic surfaces. “We'll be out soon,” the captain said over the radio. “I hope you're finding something useful on the sensors for us to check out, Ishivis.”
Barix's voice crackled loudly in her ear, making her jump slightly. “Oh yeah, all sorts of fascinating blackened junk that would be great for post-constructionist art.”
“You trying to piss me off?” Aiden replied.
The Ishivi just snickered. “So, Lana, now that I have you as a captive audience, I notice you've as yet neglected to thank me for saving your pert posterior on Midpoint. I'm sure it's just slipped your mind.”
Lana felt her face flushing. Little as she liked the slight man, he did have a point. “You're right, thank you.”
A few uncomfortable seconds passed. “Okaaay . . . gratitude is a vanishing concept in today's universe, I guess,” Barix said sarcastically. She frowned at his lack of graciousness as he continued. “Anyway, how does it feel to be reduced to doing the work of androids?”
“It feels like humans are doing it too, including your own captain,” she replied, slightly annoyed.
He talked right over her. “Humanity has fifty thousand years in space, exploring and settling entire galaxies. Almost moving on to other galactic clusters. And you're floating in roughly the same protective suit humans wore at the beginning, picking over the carcass of your prey like some kind of primordial Homeworld hunter.”
Lana frowned. “I don't know. Aside from the claustrophobia and the fear I'll fly off into the void and slowly suffocate, I'm kind of enjoying this.”
Okay, now she knew something was up. She wouldn't put it past the ishivi to just interrupt her like she wasn't even speaking, but now it was Aiden's turn to cut her off. “Don't listen to him, Lana. He's just insulting me through you. Which, I have to admit, is odd behavior for someone who's trying to get on your good side.”
“You mean in her pants?” Belix interrupted. “Good to see you're here to look out for her, oh illustrious waste filter calling the exhaust port filthy.”
Lana had no idea what the elfin woman was talking about, but at the moment was more concerned with the fact that nobody seemed to have any idea what she was talking about, either. “Can anyone hear me?” she demanded.
No response.
Ali's gentle voice cut through the continued bickering of the captain and the twins, and judging by the fact that they didn't respond to her, either, Lana had to assume the companion was speaking to her alone. “Lana, I noticed a change in your respiration that's consistent with speech, but you're not saying anything. Did you accidentally turn your mic off, or set it to talk on an unused frequency?”
Oh. Ohhh. Flushing with embarrassment, she gave Ali an exaggerated nod and a thumbs-down.
The companion sounded a combination of sympathetic and amused as she continued. “Here, let me talk you through toggling it to speak to any individual crew member or all of us together again.”
Lana didn't think she needed another tutorial, just more practice. Especially when it came to not accidentally changing the mic's settings. But she let Ali walk her through the process again, practicing talking with just her a few times.
Aiden and Fix emerged from the ship, the captain hooking his tether beside theirs but seeming in full control of his suit's jets. The combat android seemed equally adept with what looked like built-in maneuvering thrusters, wasting no time making his way around the ship to where a large metal arm protruded from its underside, gripping a piece of debris in a surprisingly long and delicate claw.
Still arguing with the Ishivi, the captain finished anchoring himself and started after Fix, curtly motioning for her and Ali to follow. Lana allowed the companion to tow her along with the tether, and used the moments of inactivity to toggle her mic to talk to everyone again. “Can anyone hear me?” she said tentatively.
There was a long silence, then Barix burst out laughing. “Have you been trying to talk to us this entire time?”
Lana glared off into space, too embarrassed to answer.
To her surprise and relief, Dax's quiet voice interrupted the Ishivi's mocking chortles. “I'd just like to say, Captain, that I would be happy to take spacewalks in your place if you wanted to man the junker arm.”
“Negative,” Aiden replied curtly. “We need you where you'll be the most useful.”
“Besides, are you actually volunteering to go pick over an irradiated wreck, when at any time a piece of debris might tear your suit and expose you to lethal radiation?” Barix asked cheerfully.
The weapons officer's reply was so quiet, Lana wasn't sure he meant anyone else to hear it. “At least it would be a chance to get off the ship.”
Another uncomfortable silence settled, and Lana decided it was her turn to come to his rescue. “On the subject of radiation exposure,” she said nervously, looking at the wreckage they were drawing steadily closer to. “I've read a bit about it. Isn't it really, really dangerous?”
“Relax,” Barix replied, tone airy. “Everyone gives radiation a bad rap, but the Captain wouldn't force you to expose yourself to it if it wasn't safe. Or at least, he wouldn't go out there with you if there was any danger . . . he'd make the construct's day and send him in his place. Don't worry, your suit will block most of it, and any exposure you happen to get can be fixed up by Ali
