Done

Done

Ryen looked down at her plate with interest and delight. Picking up her fork, she licked it clean of the pink sauce and tapped it gently against the cube. Leaning in close, she watched it jiggle back and forth for a bit until the motion gradually ceased. She tapped the cube a little harder and watched its movement again. ”Interesting…the material properties are almost like…” Raising her fork, she gave it a good push. The cube threatened to crack by remained whole. ”Fascinating.” Scooping up the cube she leaned in close, studying the diffraction gradient. Around her, her other crew mates were busy stuffing their cubed samples to the mouths but Ryen was in her own little world. Under her finger, the surface was smooth and lukewarm and had the slightest give. Meanwhile her mind was awhirl with the facts Lazlo had told them about the cube’s digestive properties. Did it have enzyme to help the intestine? Or was it more like when certain birds ate sand and dirt? If it affected teeth, why didn’t it cut through soft tissue? What was it made of? ”What do you think? Like it?” Ryen almost jumped out of her seat. She sheepishly looked over at the captain as the rest of the crew turned their attention back to her. ”It’s… interesting.” ”So are you going to taste it or are you going to play with it all day.” This comment came from Quincy who was standing curiously closenext to the shoot for the ship’s incinerator. There was something about the gleam in his eye that Ryen didn’t like. She looked down at her fork again. When she’d asked Lazlo for a piece, the thought of actually putting the substance in her mouth had never come to mind. Her green eyes flicked around to the rest of the crew. Ellie’s face looked sympathetic, Gunther’s wary, Lazlo’s a cat-like indifference. Tentatively, Ryen shaved off a piece which, as predicted, took on a cube-like form. Using her tongue, she gently mashed it against the roof of her mouth until it formed smaller and smaller cubes she could swallow. Around her people seemed to be holding their breath in expectation. ”It’s alright.” she announced, activity choosing not to take another bite. ”It’s a bit… busy.” She eyed Lazlo, wondering what his game was. Did the guy truly like that sort of thing? Was he testing them? Or was he trying to impress them with his knowledge about bizarre and exotic foods? All and all it was a strange choice for breakfast the first day aboard the ship. Maybe he had chosen the dish, simply because he could? ”Did it taste like steak?” This came from Gunther. If Quincy had an addiction to cigs, Gunther certainly had one to cooked meat. ”No,” Ryen said and thought back, ”Peppered Snatchback, apple-pie pudding, and at the end… my mother’s favorite flowers- Old Earth roses. Defiantly not steak.” Ryen tapped the pen against her mouth and uncrossed her legs again. This wasn’t as easy as she’d originally thought. Ellie had been right. The missing planet’s name was Beclaeobus but that had been days ago and she hadn’t made much progress. Oh she had the general gist of things but the pattern of words in her father’s journal seemed to go arise every time she got to an important person, place, or subject. Often enough, even context clues couldn’t tell her which. It was clear that her father had started the journal before he and her mother had met but a few years into his scientific career. Not surprisingly, it contained some references to artificial intelligence. Ryen couldn’t help shake the feeling that the experiments described in the first few pages didn’t seem to be exactly on the up and up. Ryen knew or at least had thought she’d been the only person her father had installed a memory chip on. However, it seemed like she hadn’t been his only human test subject by far. She had never thought of the possibility before but now that the journal was forcing the issue to light, it made sense. Would her father have put his only child under the knife if he had no experience previously? Was her brain chip the first of many? The only one he’d been able to keep when he fled? Was it some sort of fluke? A trial run? She didn’t know but suspected the answer lied in the still thousands of uncyphered words. So far she’d been able to decode ten pages at best. The journal had been her main way of passing time aboard the ship since Lazlo had most of the ship’s technological bays off limits and the FES Maria currently needed little mechanical upkeep. Other times she’d spend hours with Quincy, Ellie, and the rest in the mess hall playing games or just talking about by gone times. Gunther told the best stories even if they tended to end rather abruptly. Ryen rubbed her eyes, foreign symbols endlessly repeated under her eyelids. ”We will be arriving at our destination in approximately one hour.” the AI chimed, ”Please make all necessary landing preparations.” Ryen sat up and peeked outside her window. In the far distance a Federation cargo ship could be seen, heading in the opposite direction. It’s red metallic sheen separating it from the darkness of space.

Done

Ryen felt a shift in the world around her as the journal she’d been working on slid out from under her pen creating a black streak across the page. The specialized ink would have continued on the floor as well if it weren’t for its impervious polyvinyl coating. What was going on? Ryen scrambled to her feet. It was more difficult than she’d expected. Something seemed to be going wrong with the ship’s gravity controls. The fluctuations were small enough but hard to anticipate. Usually the ship’s gravity worked to counteract directional movement with finite precision. Had the autopilot somehow been damaged during takeoff? If so, why was it now just having issues?

Ryen was just about to slide open her room’s door when Lazlo’s voice broken the silence. ”Forget Maria’s announcement, we’re going to be there in ten minutes…”

Ryen groaned and angrily shook her fist angrily at the intercom. ”Maria!” Ryen demanded, still glaring, ”Why did we just experience minor fluctuations to the ship’s gravity?” Along with Lazlo’s announcement she had a growing suspicion.

The reply was short in coming. ”These occurred shortly after the ship was taken off auto-pilot by our captain.”

”You forgot to insert the word bakadus, opillas, or even pretentious. Just hope he doesn’t kill us before we land.” It was a shame that Lazlo didn’t trust the ship’s AI to do its job. But what was her father always saying? You can’t plan for stupid.

”I was not given the ability to hope, Mechanic.”

”I suppose note. It might go against the ‘I’ part of AI. But you could probably calculate the odds- no don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”



Ryen adjusted the Arubiat scarf on her head once again while studying herself in the bathroom mirror. She’d picked it up on her last voyage from Syrae and had left it at the bottom of her bag ever since. It was designed to be worn so that only the left eye and eyebrow were exposed to view. They were traditionally worn on some Federation planets that had arid climates. She just hoped it wouldn’t seem out of place on a Federation Stronghold. Maybe if she was lucky the proper authorities had already caught her father’s murders back on Syrae. Maybe once she’d fled the planet the people who had been after her in her apartment had given up. But she couldn’t shake the fear. Couldn’t stop thinking about her father’s face when he’d warn her something like this might happen all those years ago. It was best not to take any chances.

Ryen turned back to her room and fought hard not to relax her right eye as her brain struggled with the overlapping scenes, one in full color, the other in haze a muted greys. Despite her first urge to carry everything she owned on her back like she had first done when boarding the ship, Ryen had opted to only take essentials- her father’s journal and her translations, her ID card, some dehydrated fruits she’d made in the replicator earlier in the week but hadn’t finished yet, and something sharp she’d borrowed off Quincy in the first few days of the flight. At least he hadn’t asked too many questions about that one. Ryen wasn’t sure if she should be glad or not that the doctor had assumed she’d wanted it as possible defense against their captain. As for her other possessions, well if she couldn’t make it back on the ship to get her extra clothes and self-sanitizing toothbrush she had bigger problems.

Outside her room the hallways were eerily quiet and since they’d been docked for a bit already, she guessed everyone else had already disembarked. At least until she almost ran headfirst into Quincy. Ryen eyed his bulging bag critically while his eyes in turn flicked over her outfit.

”You look guilty,” Ryen said trying not to think too hard about just what the doctor had managed to fit in the bag and the reason why.

”So do you,” he replied, picking up the edge of her scarf briefly before moving around her to press the elevator’s call button. ”Afraid someone will recognize you? If you’re not to blame for your father’s death, and I don’t think you are, then why are you hiding?”

”That’s what I want to know.” Ryen said under her breath. She didn’t know if the doctor had heard her or not. When she turned around the elevator doors were already shut.

The mechanic tried not to groan as she turned around a hallway and saw Lazlo standing there, guarding the exit. Did he know she’d also swiped something from the medical bay? Probably not. Besides it was relatively inexpensive and easy to replace.

”Good morning,” Ryen said trying to sound casual. Ryen looked down to see a small device in Lazlo’s hand and guessed at its purpose. She slipped a hand in her side pocket and gave him her card trying not to feel too guilty. As far as she was concerned, she hadn’t done anything yet that had warranted pay and if she did decide not to continue on with him she didn’t want to feel like she owed him. As soon as the card left her hand, sudden thought had flashed across her mind. What if her card no longer worked? What if someone had shut her bank account down? What if the people who were after her used the transaction information to locate her? What if… what if…

Done

Ryen gave Lazlo an exasperated expression as he assessed her clothing choice. His emphasis on the word criminal pinged something in her pride as did the expression that briefly played across his face. Did he not believe her when she said she’d nothing to do with her father’s murder or was it simply something else? Before she could ask him, however, he took the card in her outstretched hand and she had other concerns occupying her mind.

Ryen held her breath as Lazlo place the card inside the terminal. A nervous giddiness flooded through Ryen’s veins as time seemed to slow. She couldn’t bear to watch his face as she waited for the final verdict about her account but instead focused on the air lock door behind him. Once her eyes flicked over to the machine in Lazlo’s hands and she saw him speedily typing away. However, before she could inquire anything, he broke the silence between them.

”I'd highly suggest that you avoid buying anything which could be viewed as an offensive weapon with this card."

”Right.” Ryen replied, the word dripping with obvious anger and irritation. What kind of person did he think she was? Or did the captain’s statement have something to do with her card? Had something been wrong with it, like she’d feared all along?

”Make sure you get here early and tell the AI to start warming up the core for me."

Ryen reached out tried to take the offered card. However, it was clear the man wasn’t letting go of the metal chip just yet. Once again Ryen felt like something about their exchange was off. He’d been clear in his announcement earlier that no one was allowed to board the ship early but now he’d just given her early access. The ship’s AI would easily be able to warm up the cores itself if Lazlo simply told the computer when to do it. Ryen pulled slightly on her card again and felt the resistance of his hold. Their eyes met. ”Sure, I can do that.” At last the card slipped from his hand.

----

Stepping out of the ship, Ryen adjusted the Arubiat scarf, pulling it off her face and laying it over her shoulders. Lazlo did have a point. Wearing one might do more harm than good if it made her the center of attention.

The mechanic took a moment to take in her surroundings. As expected, the Fess Maria was currently in a shipping yard, B dock, to be exact. Various other civilian vessels hunkered down nearby. Wires, hoses, and various repair machines attached to them like tendons on bone. Screens high above displayed the time in FST and various other PT including Syrae’s. Blocky black paint made it clear to the new arrivals that they’d landed on Federation Stronghold in sector 700. Ryen walked over to a nearby panel located near the ship’s anchoring system. With a few quick swipes, she’d pulled up a holographic map of the portion of the stronghold civilians had access to.

From what she could gather, this place was part military base, part ship repair yard, part trade post, and part communication center for this small portion of the galaxy. Sadly, what she knew about the Federation, let alone their strongholds, was at best, lacking. Her school work had only brush on some Federation generalizations (perhaps because most people on Syrae had chosen to move there to get away from the government) and her father’s tutoring hadn’t bothered to add much. Odd, now that she thought about it, that her father had focused on language, history, technology, and major planets of the Federation without actually caring much about covering the governing body itself.

A hand clamped down on Ryen’s shoulder causing the woman to nearly jump out of her skin. Whirling around she was met with the grinning, smoke clouded face of the ship’s doctor. ”I almost didn’t recognize you.” he said, his expression not faltering.

Ryen shrugged at his comment, not wanting to let it be known that she was following Lazlo’s suggestion. It would be too close to admitting that the captain was right and after their most recent conversation, it wasn’t something Ryen felt up for. Turning back to the map, Ryen continued her survey, zooming in and out of various areas.

”Are you looking for something specific?” he prodded, ”A restaurant of some sort? Maybe some place to get a haircut?”

”Haircut?” Ryen replied absentmindedly, still applying her focus to the map. She was trying to create a mental image in her brain of the stronghold just in case. However, the sheer number of interconnecting passages and various transportation mechanisms made the feat difficult, more so with Quincy chatting in her ear. ”What’s wrong with my hair?”

”Nothing’s wrong. I’ve just always found red hair to be rather bold myself. I hear lilac’s all the rage this season. Lots of people have lilac hair.”

”That’s nice,” she replied, not bothering to hide the annoyance in her voice as she scanned over yet another floor. Gods, how many did this place have? Unfortunately she never had a chance to find out as Quincy grabbed her hand and proceeded to direct her towards the nearest door. Ryen would have protested if she hadn’t seen the strained look in the doctor’s eyes. ”Don’t turn around,” he whispered under his breath, ”Just keep walking.”

Done

The hallway behind the door they’d disappeared through was wide enough to accommodate several humans walking shoulder to shoulder. The walls were made of beveled corrugated metal that echoed their faint metallic footsteps. The area smelled of grease, fuel, rust, and the sharp zing of electrocharged air. It all was quite the contrast to their ship’s sterile odor and Ryen couldn’t say it was a change for the better.

They continued to walk on for a few minutes in silence, heading deeper into the stronghold. Occasionally the hallway forked off, leading to other shipping docks. Every now and then the couple ran into other civilian visitors or Federation staff wearing uniforms that marked them as dock workers or patrols.

”You want to tell me what that way about back there?” Ryen said after she was sure the Buldos they had passed was out of ear shot.

Quincy stopped and pressed a button in the wall, summoning an elevator to take them up to other floors in the base. ”Not really.” the doctor replied stubbing out his cigarette on the elevator door’s frame. It was his third once since getting off the ship and from the way his hand lingered towards the front pocket of his lab coat, Ryen guessed it would shortly be followed by another.

”I think if people are coming after me I ought to know,” Ryen hissed as they door chimed opened and the two stepped inside.

”You know, Ryen,” Quincy said in a dry voice, ”Not everything is about you... Let’s just say it was an old associate of mine that I didn’t feel like chatting with and leave it at that.”

Ryen looked at the doctor’s face, trying to ascertain what was behind his curiously blank expression. Meanwhile, Quincy reached out and selected two different floors from the elevator’s digital control panel. ”I would stick to the upper floors if I were you,” the doctor continued, ”The more expensive merchants and goods are housed there. Some might even say they’re safer for an impressionable young lady.” He gave her a stern look at those words, the effect of which was nearly comical.

The elevator dinged as a soothing feminine voice called out the floor. ”This is my stop.” he announced. It wasn’t until the metal door slid open that Ryen felt a sudden surge of panic. From her limited vantage point, she could see what looked like a sort of market. However, the fact that it had vendors selling thigs was the only resemblance it held to market places she’d seen planet-side. The floor was grimy with wet streaks and puddles that reflected the light of nearby neon and holographic signs. Stalls, displaying questionable goods, were haphazardly erected and strewn together out of various materials. Trash littered the ground, causing the casual shopper to take care not to stumble into it. Needless to say, Quincy’s stark white lab coat was a sharp contrast. ”You should probably buy yourself some more shirts while you’re here. The same four are getting boring to look at day in and day out.” With that he doctor stepped outside and the door slid closed behind him.

Once again the elevator began to climb. Not for the first time in recent history did Ryen feel way over her head. ”I can always go back to the ship early if things get a bit hairy,” she out loud to herself, ”And Lazlo didn’t specify just how early I can get in.” Part of her, a big part of her, wanted to turn around now and head back to the ship but she suspected she’d be hard pressed to convince the AI to let her in this early.

As if on cue, the elevator slowed down and announced her stop. Bolstering herself Ryen stepped from the relative safety of the metal box. Thankfully, as Quincy had suggested, this floor seemed a bit more her speed.

These stores were set in permeant structures, some even having high security systems (as announced by signs) to dissuade those with sticky fingers. The ground was cleaner although like down below, trash was still piled up here and there. Sparking windows displayed everything from jewelry and fine collectables, clothing, skin printing, and the latest technological advancements all behind thick, shock proof glass. The latter of which caught her eye as Ryen made a mental note that she wanted to pick up some tools of her trade. Still, there would be enough time for that later. At this moment, she had more pressing matter to attend to.

Wandering around though the maze of store fronts, she eventually found what she’d been searching for. It was a smaller shop that served tiny, expensive drinks in fancy crystalline glasses. In the back were a few news terminals where one could sit in relative peace and peruse at will without being disturbed. Other than the shop owner, a small set Thortalbash with budging grey eyes, a male humanoid was the only other occupant in the store. From what she could gather from the reflection bouncing off his goggles, he was currently occupied watching the latest reruns of the Gongoriam Games.

The Thortalbash scuttled over, its sixteen legs cruising over the plush emerald carpet with practiced ease. After giving him her drinking order, she logged into the information terminal.

”Dr. Arleth found murdered in Park Square. His body was filleted beyond…”

”…reported critical information from lab was destroyed in an attempt…”

”…unresolved case lingers in citizen’s memory of…”

The last news clipping caught Ryen’s full attention.

”The daughter of the recently deceased Dr. Arleth has been reported missing. Due to recent evidence found in her home, local law enforcement has placed her as the prime suspect in the victim’s murder case. Currently her whereabouts are unknown. Please contact your local authority if you have any information. Due to the nature of her father’s death, the assailant is presumed to be dangerous. Do not engage.”

Done

Ryen looked around the small room she had rented for the remaining nights she had left on the Federation Stronghold. Like the drink shop she had visited earlier in the day, the hotel was located in the upper floors of the base. The air around her was heavy with the smell of crushed hybercus, this season’s popular fragrance. Admittedly, she’d gone a little overboard and spent well over half of the credits Lazlo had added to her card. Despite wanting to save what money she had left, Ryen hadn’t felt brave enough to venture back down into the bowels to find cheaper lodging.

Looking back, she’d been a bit silly after she’d discovered that the authorities on Syrae were looking for her in association with her father’s murder. After seeing the news Ryen had been paranoid. There she was, sitting in a Federation Stronghold, with a huge target on her back. It was only through concentrated effort that she was able to stop her panicking mind from going into overdrive and focus her thoughts into a more reasonable direction. First, Syrae was not part of the Federation and so, hopefully, their news was considered to be of little importance. Second, her identity had already, most likely, been noted and recorded in the base’s log books. If Lazlo hadn’t given her name when they’d first dock, surely something would have come up when he ran her card or when she logged into the computer at the café. She’d been sitting at that same computer for over two hours. If they had wanted to find her, they surely could have. No, for whatever reason, none of the authorities had been alerted to her location… as of yet.

Ryen had figured that since she had already ran her card, she might as well start gathering up what supplies she could, just in case. In for a penny, in for a pound, as the saying went. That’s when she had gone a little overboard, focusing her time and attention to rebuilding her wardrobe and, in a small way, her life.



Her favorite item, and by far most expensive, was not on its way to the ship’s cargo hold like the rest but was instead already strapped to her wrist. The device was no wider than a fingertip and radiated with a warm copperish glow. Rotating her left arm, Ryen used her thumb to run over the small engraving by the underside of her wrist. It was made of three circles. One large one with a capitol, stylized “A” in the center and two smaller circles on the outside of the larger one. It was her father’s manufacturer seal. The “A” of course standing for Arleth, the circles of course, representing the planet Syrae and her two moons Phyion and Erthennia. It made her feel like she was still connected to her father. The device wasn’t just for athletics however, it had practical uses as well. In truth, such an item shouldn’t have gotten out of the lab, let alone off the planet. It was a high end prototype, at best, and was designed to connect and interface seamlessly with most AIs from war battalion ship to a simple coffee makers. This could be done if the user either received permission from the AIs operator or knew the AIs command override codes. Most often, however, it was used as a form of easy communication to the AI. It meant that, if Ryen was given permission, she’d be able to contact the ship’s AI directly while planet side and use it as a sort of satellite to communicate with her crewmates assuming they had some kind of receiver on their end. Yes, the device had cost her a pretty penny but it would hopefully be worth the exorbitant price.

Ryen sighed. The room, while richly decorated still felt cold and empty. Fleetingly she thought of Quincy and the others and wondered how they were getting along. Would Ellie be okay by herself? She seemed the type of person who often fell into trouble accidentally. Gunther and Lazlo would be fine of course assuming the latter didn’t attract any unnecessary attention like he had when they’d left Syrae.

Reaching out, Ryen turned off the bedside light and snuggled down under the plush warm covers. Outside the market place still hummed with life, but here the air was still and silent. Ryen turned over in her bed restlessly. Despite having the door locked tight, despite having the window coverings shut so tight that no light edged its way through, despite checking under the bed and in the closet and behind the shower stall’s door, she couldn’t quite shake the feeling of unease.

”It’s nothing,” Ryen whispered to herself.

Done

“I hope everything met with your expectations.” The attendant said as he handed Ryen back her chip card.

Ryen thanked the man and placed the card back into the pocket of her pants. Stooping down, she grabbed the belongings she’d momentarily placed on the floor next to her and started to head out of the lobby. Unfortunately she wouldn’t have time to stop for a quick meal. Ryen had woken up much later than she planned and now she was in a rush to make it back to the shipyard to warm up the core. The mechanic was just about through the hotel’s door when she suddenly remembered what she was missing.

”Damn it,” Ryen groaned, turning around abruptly and almost running headlong into a couple of Heranorps. ”The communicator.”

She’d had a bad night again. Tossing and turning in the sheets, unable to get comfortable, Ryen had opted to take the expensive device off and had placed it on the nightstand next to her bed. Chances were good, it was still there. It only took her a few minutes to retrace her steps back to her room. Despite having just checked out, her card, thankfully, still opened the door. Just as she was clasping the communicator device around her wrist, she heard it- the sound of raised voices through the crack in the door. Although she couldn’t make out all of the words, she could tell from the increasing volume that the owners were getting closer.

”…privacy… officially sanctioned… system…”

Paranoia and panic, similar, to what she had felt back in her apartment washed over the young mechanic. Only this time there wasn’t a convenient balcony and hover bike. Her blue eyes darted around as her brain ran through possible scenarios.

Running out of time, she ducked down and started to slide under the bed. Ryen felt foolish with her faced pressed against the floor, at least until she heard the door of her hotel room whine as it opened wider. Then she silently struggled and promised to herself that she wouldn’t eat another chocolate éclair from the replicator so long as she managed to fit.

”Not here.” The voice was gravelly. Male, she was guessing.

”Where?” A different voice. Heavier than the first. Slow and low. Almost, patient. Ryen recognized the language as Quandu.

[b]”Now will you leave?”[/b Yet another voice in heavily accented Common Tongue. The owner had been the one who had raised a ruckus in the hallway.

Ryen breathed in and out as quietly as possible, the hammering of her heart almost as loud as the heavy footfalls she heard moving about the room. Unfortunately, the same bed linen that was keeping her figure well-hidden made it impossible for her to see what was going on. More grumbling. More movement around the room. Then a door closed and the room was silent again. Ryen counted to one hundred. She only made it to eighty-nine.

”Hotel records show...already left…” The second voice had said in a low whisper. She couldn’t make out all the words but Ryen was reluctant to move to try to catch what they were saying.

Again the sound of a door closing echoed through the room. Ryen counted to seven-thousand-twenty-eight before feeling brave enough to slip out from under the bed and scramble to her feet. The room’s door was still closed and try as she might, she couldn’t detect any sound coming from the hallway. Should she try calling someone? She was reluctant to contact the local federation police. She could just imagine it now. ”Hello my name is Ryen Arleth. Uh… yes… that Ryen Arleth, the one the authorities on Syrae think is responsible for her father’s death. Anyways, I need your assistance because there are- Humans? Aliens? Entities? Beings?-who are trying to find me and I don’t know why but I suspect they’re dangerous.” It sounded incredibly stupid in her own head.

There of course was another possibility but Ryen had no way of contacting her crew mates. Surely, Gunther would come and help if no one else. However, no one knew where she was and she according to the bedside clock, she was already running late. Would Lazlo suspect something if he got back before the cores had started up? Would he hold the ship if she didn’t make it back on time? A picture of what Lazlo had looked like as he handed back her card flashed into her mind, as crisp as if he was standing there right in front of her. The likelihood of being stranded on the Federation Stronghold was beginning to be a real possibility. She couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

Cautiously, Ryen crept forward and opened the door. Nothing. Sticking just her head out, Ryen looked left and right down the empty hallway before running in a mad dash towards the hotel’s lift that would take her back to the lobby. Suddenly a hand slammed down on her shoulder. Too frightened to breath, let alone scream, Ryen whirled around.

The hand belonged to a woman who was wearing clothes that identified her ask hotel staff. ”You’ll want to take the back stairs.” This was the owner of voice number three.

****

Sweat plastered red strands of hair to Ryen’s forehead as the door to the Ship Yard B slid open in front of her. The time displayed on the holograms above her read 12.28.09 giving her less than three minutes before Lazlo’s stated departure time. Not pausing for a breath, Ryen sprinted towards the still docked Fess Maria.

It had taken her longer than she would have liked to get back. Ryen had spent the better part of an hour making her way slowly back to the ship. Twice she had to back track through small alley ways and up and down elevators on the upper floors, certain she was being followed. Twice she’d been wrong. Who had been in her room looking for her? What had they wanted? Were they with the police? Had they been the ones who had ransacked her father’s lab? She didn’t even know what they looked like. Too late she had realized she should have questioned the hotel staff member.

Ryen was running so fast that she almost slammed into the external airlock door of the ship. ”I’m here,” Ryen panted, expecting the ship to respond and open up the sliding doors. It didn’t. ”I said I’m here!” Again nothing. That’s when she saw it on the wall. She’d been two minutes too late. Ryen began pounding on the door in earnest, her fists pummeling against the metal. ”Let me in! Please! Let me in!” Surely they wouldn’t leave her. Just as Ryen was about to go in full blown panic mode, she heard a quiet voice behind her.

Turning, Ryen was surprised to see the flushed faced technician. Ellie was gripping her electronic pad so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. ”You don’t think…,” she started voice wavering, ”He won’t really leave us… will he?”

Done

Ryen was only a few steps away from the doorway started to crack open. ”Thank-“ but that was all she managed to get out when the ground in front of them cracked with an electrical discharge. A loud sound emitted from the impact as white and blue shards of lightening fizzled in the air around the area. Just to her right, Ellie screamed and quelled. While Ryen, still in shock, was trying to figure out why the ship had aimed a shot at them.

It was clear, in a matter of seconds, that it wasn’t the ship’s fault as their captain appeared from behind the opening door, pistol barrel aimed right at Ellie’s head. The poor women looked like she was about to faint.

”Damnit…” Before Ryen or Ellie could make sense of what was happening, Lazlo had clamped his hands on their shoulders and had practically drug them inside. The door behind them was shut and the decontamination process had started before the mechanic could find her words. The captain however, beat her to it.

”I only gave you two commands…” Even through the white mist, Ryen could see Ellie visibly flinch at the onslaught, ”…It’s like working with children…”

”I’m sorry. I tried-” Ryen tried to get out, but Lazlo’s words continued to mow her over.

”…DO YOU HEAR ME?”

Ryen swallowed hard and nodded, trying hard not to think about what the recourse for their tardiness would be. In the meantime, she reached out and put a steadying hand on the technician’s shoulder. The woman looked like she was about to faint.

”He was… smiling,” Ellie said in a barely audible whisper. ”Does he know?” The mechanic was just about to ask for clarification when Lazlo’s shout reminded them that they would be taking off shortly. After making certain that the other woman was okay and would be able to make it to her station on her own, Ryen headed to hers located near the ship’s Core Subsystem.

”Maria,” Ryen called out as she hurriedly strapped herself in and logged into one of the ship’s informational panels, pulling it out on its hinges so it was more easily accessible. ”I take it that the cores are warmed up already?”

”Mechanic,” the ship replied, it’s mechanical voice sounding more disapproving than usual, ”I don’t do your job for you.” In front of her, the screen flashed to the ship’s energy diagram detailing just what was happening to the ship. Unfortunately, the cores hadn’t been properly warmed up again. This meant in order for the ship to take off, power had to be shifted away from other processes. The shielding, to Ryen’s horror, was sitting at 5%. Enough to protect the ship from rouge space debris damage and not much else. In addition, the medical bay, galley, and two storage lockers had been temporarily shut down.

”We could shut down power and processes to the extra residential rooms,” Ryen said. Scanning through more power signature data. ”This would allow us to temporarily boost the shields.”

”The power draw of a single extra room is almost negligible at this point.” The AI replied.

”Just one?” Ryen replied worrying at her lip, ”I thought we had more.” Had she read the ships map wrong a while back? Disregarding the thought, Ryen continued scanning through the ships bios. There was simply not enough power in the cores yet to get them off of a planet of any substantial size. Thankfully, Federation Stronghold lacked both an atmosphere and a substantial gravitational pull. A dramatic dip in the ship’s energy reserves was all the Ryen noticed about their take off.

***

When Ryen arrived to the galley both Quincy and Ellie were already there. Using the, once again fully powered replicator, she selected a large green salad with Teta Mushrooms. A sort of penance for her near escape.

”He’s crazy, you know.” Ryen whispered to the technician who was, as faithfully as ever, typing away at her pad. ”He almost shot us.”

”I don’t think… he wouldn’t have…” Ellie stammered, not sounding very convinced.

”Your faces were hilarious!” Quincy said, tapping his lit cigarette against a near empty bowel. From its contents, Ryen guessed it was what was left of the doctor’s late lunch ”Hilarious!”

”He almost killed us!” Ryen shouted, wiping the grin off Quincy’s face. ”Why didn’t you let us in?”

The doctor just sighed and brought some sort of tool out of his lab coat pocket. ”If you’d been back on time, that wouldn’t have happened. You know? You’d be safe inside and my medical bay would currently be up and running.” Ryen shot him a disgusted look. ”Plus, it wasn’t like I knew he was going to shoot first and ask questions later.”

”Who’s shooting who?” This came from Gunther who appeared at the galley doors, a small child-like figure hovering behind him. However, the meek creature, instead of making her way, like the solider over to the large central table, instead sat herself down on the floor near the door. ”That’s Seita,” Gunter continued but before he could finish, Lazlo appeared.

***

"I don't suppose you broke a third of my commands, did you?" Lazlo asked as he took her chip card away. Ryen racked her brain as the man loomed over her. ”I… don’t think so…” Ryen stammered, trying to figure out what he was referring to. ”I didn’t buy a weapon if that’s what you’re asking about.” Although, with the events of today, maybe she should really reconsider it.

Ryen accepted her card back as Lazlo continued his speech. Halfway through, she was struck with the thought that maybe, just maybe, the man was a bit deranged. She’d just wanted some safe off world transport. Tests? Assessments? Best of the Best? Ellie, sure. Gunther, why not. But Quincy? Really? And where did the young girl fit in? Looking around, Ryen took in the faces around the table. Ellie and Quincy seemed as surprised as she was but Gunther was taking the news more casually than she’d expect. Had the solider suspected this all along?

Around the table, everyone was quietly watching as Lazlo presented the crew members bios one by one. Gunther’s information was impressive. Ryen didn’t know much about military status but even she could appreciate his scores in marksmanship. His service and travel record was also extensive, expanding over a large portion of Federation Planets and some, like Syrae, non-controlled ones. Ryen listened as he accepted his position. The next time she had the opportunity, Ryen wanted to bring to Gunter’s attention the incident in the hotel today.

Next, Lazlo, presented information about the good doctor. Once again, Ryen felt like the last one to know. Gunther simply nodded and Ellie’s lack of any interest in the information spoke volumes. Nevertheless, Ryen was having problems swallowing the information presented. Sure, Quincy had seemed like a good enough doctor. He’d fixed her dislocated shoulder and had done something to the tipsy Ellie but it was hard for her to come to terms with the fact that this person sitting next to her, puffing away at his cigarette could ever be considered one of the best. Yet there they were. Test scores, class rankings, and surgical outcomes flashed across the screen.

Quincy let out a low laugh as Ryen realized her jaw was dangling open. ”Yes sir, loud and clear.”

So stunned by the presented information, that the mechanic almost missed Lazlo’s mention of Quincy’s curative ‘methods’. ”What methods?” Ryen asked. Gunther shrugged, Ellie blushed, Quincy smirked, while Lazlo and Seita seemingly ignored her comment. Next was the technician’s turn.

If Ryen was stunned by Quincy’s record it was nothing compared to how she felt about Ellie’s. This shy woman who tittered when she spoke and swooned at the drop of a hat, was in fact a super spy? Sure, you couldn’t judge a book by its cover but you should be able to get close? Right? Ryen glanced sideways at Ellie while Lazlo continued to list her qualifications. The technician, was turning redder than a tomato.

”… Her responsibility is to store every piece of information which the crew comes across and to provide any information requested by the members of the crew…” Lazlo continued. Ryen’s ears picked up. Any information? Perhaps Ellie could help her decipher her father’s journal. Perhaps Ellie could find just what her father had been doing on Beclaeobus. Perhaps, Ellie could help Ryen find her mother. A picture flashed in the mechanic head, unaltered by time. A beautiful woman with fiery red hair and a kind smile. It was all almost too much to hope for.

That’s when Lazlo pressed a button and a slide with the words ‘Ryen Arleth’ appeared on the screen. Underneath were grades, class rank, and previous occupations. How could she possibly stack up to Quincy’s achievements, Gunther’s assignments, or Ellie’s sheer amount of programing knowledge? The answer was quiet clearly that she could not. Her information didn’t just look lackluster; it looked down right pathetic compared to the rest of the team’s. Unconsciously Ryen slunk a little lower in her chair, while she felt rather than saw everyone’s eyes on her. She wanted to explain, prove that she was so much more than what was up there.

Someone coughed loudly, probably Quincy, when Lazlo mentioned the word “jobs”. Yes, not only was her rap sheet the worst, but thanks to her delay this morning, portions of the ship were just starting to be fully powered again.

“…Is that understood, Ryen?" Lazlo prompted.

”Clearer than Syrae crystal.” she replied. As he went on to describe her functionality within the crew, Ryen felt her confidence boost a little. Full access to the subsystems? Her fingers involuntarily twitched as a small grin played on her face. Oh Maria, Maria, watch out!

***
”Please follow the lit path,” Maria announced as soon as Lazlo breezed out of the galley. Gunther was the first to get out of his seat, followed by quickly by Seita. Next Ryen stood up, followed by Ellie, leaving Quincy in the rear as the group headed collectively over to the cargo hold.

”One moment,” Ryen said, stopping by a diagnostic screen located by the ship’s main elevator. ”I want to make sure all life support for those areas is up and running.” A quick check revealed that the cargo holds were fully powered although the ship’s shieling was still sitting as a dismal 32%. ”Right. We’re good to go.”

Everyone piled in as the elevator door’s swung shut. The area inside was cramped and not helped in anyway by the stench of cigarettes wafting off the doctor. Thankfully the ride ended quickly as the group continued onwards towards the holds.

”Anyone else notice something off about this?” Quincy asked, his voice the only noise besides ever present hum of the engines and the sound of shoes against metal floors.

”The amount of credits for all… our technology?” This came from Ellie.

”That someone with the qualifications and certification like our captain is flying around space with a new ship and a five person crew?” Ryen added.

”I-I like the captain.” This was added in a quiet voice by Seita.

”That most of us are over qualified except for a young girl and the daughter of a top engineer who only barely had passing grades?” Gunter stated. Ryen looked over at the solider but it was clear from his expression that he playing with her, even if he did suspect something.

” That most of us worked under the Federation.” Quincy stated as the mechanic reached out and unlocked the hold’s door.

Inside the ship’s full cargo hold, lights flickered to like revealing metal crates which were stacked nearly up to the ceiling. Gunther let out a low whistle. ”That’s a lot of gear.” Seita was the first to wander over and inspect the wording on the crates, curiosity getting the better of her. Despite the crates girth, weight, and advanced locking mechanism, the young girl opened it up with relative ease. Reaching in she fished around until she pulled out a long, emerald colored shirt.

”That’s mine!” Ryen said, snatching it from the girl’s outstretched hand. Seita shrunk back at the gesture as if the mechanic had frightened her. Ryen apologized but the girl still seemed leery. ”Ellie, will you pull up the ship’s manifesto? I’m sure I’m not the only one who went on a shopping spree.”

According to the manifesto, Ryen had been correct. The crates under Gunther’s name listed all kinds of survival supplies and, what Ryen suspect to be weapons. In addition, surprisingly, there were a few old fashion, high-end board games. For the latter, Seita gave her shy enthusiasm to this news. Ellie’s and Ryen’s crates tended towards the clothing end. Even Seita, although she quietly confessed to not knowing how, had a few crates herself. Then there were Quincy’s. The contents of his three crates were rather vague although one was distinctly marked with a rather large biohazard sign.

”The Feeders are in crate 692… Alpha… Foxtrot… X-ray.” Ellie read off as she began directing the group to which crates needed to be open to access their new technology.

Done

Like the rest of the crew, Ryen quickly searched through the boxes with Maria’s and Ellie’s help. Seven boxes in all, eight if you counted the separate cartridge of shock pistol pellets. It took multiple trips for Ryen and Ellie to carry their technology, along with their purchases back to their separate quarters. Quincy got off relatives easy since his room, along with the medical bay were also located on the bottom floor while Guther was kind enough to help Seita with hers before heading back to collect his own.

Ryen started off with the closest box, thoroughly reading through the owner’s manual. The contents happened to be the gun or, at least, the shock pistol. It was odd to her that Lazlo would first tell her not to go buying weapons and then just hand one over. Maybe that was how he liked to handle his ship. She suspected some kind of underlying control issue.

”Simple enough, I suppose.” Ryen said using the manual to assemble and then disassemble the gun a few times. ”Ten seconds… pff… yeah right.” She’d be lucky if one day she could get down to thirty. Just because her brain was starting to remember how the pieces went together didn’t mean she had the accuracy just yet. Ryen read the directions on how to use the pistol once and then a second time a little slower. Then she gave up trying to understand what in the world it was talking about. Maybe the Xs and boxes and colors would make more sense once she had some practice with it. Placing the gun and a spare magazine clip in her tool belt, Ryen continued riffling through the technology.

A quick look through the communicator’s manual and the mechanic came to the realization that the one Lazlo had given them wasn’t nearly as nice as the one she had on her wrist. She’d worry about interfacing with the other crew member’s devices at a later time.

”Maria,” Ryen said, ”I need your CIC.”

No response came. Was the AI ignoring her? ”Look,” Ryen continued, ”You heard what I captain said earlier. I know you did. I’m in charge of your subsystems, repairs, resource management, and design optimization. Essentially, I’m in charge of you! I won’t be able to do my job without being able to communicate to you while off ship. So can I have you CIC… ” Nothing. ”please?”

”Communication Interface Code: 562729343-detla-bravo-foxtrot-736.” Maria rattled off so quickly that Ryen had to struggle to keep up as she typed in the code to the projected holographic screen. A few minutes later the process was complete.

”Access ship status of Fes Maria” Ryen stated. With the ship’s permission, Ryen was able to receive a screen shot of the ship’s energy diagram. However, unlike before with the access panel, she would not be able to directly manipulate the out puts. ”Only 38% percent now? Why? What’s taking so long.” Digging a little deeper, Ryen discovered that a significant amount of the core’s excess power, which should have been going to the rebuilding the shields, was being directed to the ship’s medical bay. What exactly Quincy was doing in there was anyone’s guess. ”Does the captain know about the shields?”

”He has recently been informed.” Maria responded. With that, Ryen shut off the screen on her communicator and turned back to the task at hand.

The active-armor jacket seemed simple enough if not a bit-sticky. She didn’t like the idea of something contorting to fit flesh against her skin and since there was no reason to wear it on the ship, at least that she could think of at the moment, Ryen opted to leave it off. The ETL seemed simple enough, at least on the surface. The omnitool was impressive and had a good user interface. Like the pistol, she placed it in her tool belt. Next up, the Cache Keeper and Feeder…



****

”It’s just a lot and its power that could be directed somewhere else.” Ryen griped as the gallery doors slid open relieving the rest of the crew was already seated at the table. Once again Gunter was slicing away at a hunk of meat. Ryen briefly wondered what the solider had against cows.

”It’s for my containment unit.” Quincy remarked with a casual shrug. ”It needs extra shielding.”

”I’ll tell you what needs extra shielding…” Ryen replied, walking over to the replicator and typing in the code for Spiced Risotto. Something pricked at the back of her neck, and Ryen turned around to see the doctor eyeing her curiously. ”What?” she said while reaching in and pulled out the now fully formed dish.

”You eat a lot of different dishes.” He replied nonchalantly and then offered a wide smile. ”I guess you like variety.” Ryen nodded and not sure how to take the comment, opted on simply taking at seat at the table, nodding a greeting to those already there.

Done