Embarkment 2577 Read online

  He gave me a wounded look. “Natullary.”

  Good enough. “I’m happy to hear that. Mika will be back here in a minute with a nice man who’ll help us up to the room. I want you to help him as much as you can. Okay?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  Sparks still danced in his eyes, but he made an effort to talk straight. “We should go over there.”

  Oh crap. I hadn’t even seen the big, blinking sign that said Casino. Behind me, an unfamiliar voice laughed. “Oh no, son, you’re in no shape for that today. You’ll lose both your clothes and your wife.”

  The doorman was big. Good. Mika filled in, “Come with us to the room, and we can go to the casino tomorrow.”

  We hauled Adam out of the car, and he tried to go to the casino anyway. His legs wouldn’t carry him, and he had little choice but to follow when he hung between us. He protested when we sat him down on the bed, but didn’t try to wrestle free. I said, “Stay there.” Seconds later, he was engulfed in studying his shirt again.

  Mika grimaced. “Will you be alright? I can probably stay?”

  “It’s so sweet of you to ask. He won’t get far, but it would be great if you could come by in the morning.”

  “Are you sure? It’s no trouble, really.”

  I wasn’t sure at all, but I nodded anyway. “If he regains his sense of balance and decides to go somewhere, a whole army of us won’t be able to stop him.”

  *****

  Letting Mika leave was a mistake. As soon as the door closed behind her, I realized how lonely I was. I wanted to cry, or throw up, or both. Was this what a panic attack felt like?

  “Can I get up now?”

  Interesting. I had told him to stay. I had not expected him to obey. I swallowed hard and tried to keep my voice steady. “No. I want you to stay there for now.”

  He sounded like a sulking child. “But I want to go do something. I’ve been sitting here forever.”

  I took a seat beside him. “We’ll do that later. For now, I want you to run a sleep program. Can you do that for me?”

  It was the only thing I could think of to keep him still.

  “Okay.”

  A second later, he lay across the bed with his feet still on the floor, deep in whatever void holds an android in stand-by mode. I kissed his forehead and whispered, “We’ll fix this, I promise. I don’t know how, but we’ll find a way to fix this.”

  Finally, no one could see me anymore. I curled up in a little ball and cried. If he didn’t snap out of this on his own, he might be lost forever.

  I didn’t notice drifting off to sleep, but I must have. I woke from the first rays of sunshine peeking through the blinds. Normally, Adam would wake if I wiggled a toe, but this morning he didn’t stir when I got up. Panic time. What if he wasn’t just sleeping? What if he was dead?

  “Adam.” I ran a hand over his arm. Nothing. “Adam, wake up.” I shook him. Still nothing. “Adam, please wake up. I don’t know what to do without you. Please be okay and please wake up.”

  He didn’t even twitch. I sank down on the floor, pulled my knees up to my chin and pressed my back against the bed. His neural network might be destroyed beyond repair. What would I do if he never woke up again? I was alone, in a world that wasn’t mine. Unthinkable. Unbearable. I had to try again. If he didn’t come to and my friends on the Bell couldn’t fix him, I would have to track down his mother. That alternative wasn’t high on my Christmas list, but I might have to do it anyway.

  Deciding to act made me feel a little better. I sat up on the edge of the bed again, grabbed his shoulders, and shook him. “Adam. Adam!”

  This time, he opened his eyes, only to squeeze them shut again in an almost human fashion. “Why is it so bright in here? Why are you crying?”

  He sat up and squinted. “I’m experiencing problems with calibrating my visual cortex. There is also an error in the circuits controlling equilibrium of…”

  I stopped him through patting him on the shoulder. I needed a few moments to make sense of all the big words. “Let me guess, the light is much too bright, all noises are much too loud, and the world is swaying around you?”

  He sounded distant when he answered, “Correct. I’m clearly malfunctioning. I have a number of burned out memory circuits and there are significant disturbances in my neural…”

  I once again interrupted him. “You’re hung over. You got drunk, or high, or something, and now you’re hung over. Adam, I thought you died.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s… How interesting. That’s not supposed to be possible. I must initiate self-repairs and attempt to restore my databases.”

  At least he was talking properly again. “English, please. Are you going to be okay?”

  Meeting my eyes and lifting an eyebrow, he looked almost like his normal self. “Yes.”

  Someone knocked on the door and he winced. “That’s so loud.”

  “What colour is my hand? If you say rainbow, I will cry.”

  He groaned, sounding very human.

  Mika found it all hilarious, and now when I knew he’d be alright, it was pretty funny.

  Chapter Ten

  When Adam and I returned to the Bell, I stared at the large ship. “I didn’t think I’d ever say this about a spaceship, but it’s good to be home.”

  I expected him to shrug it off, but he reached over to brush his fingers over my cheek. “Yes and no.”

  I had forgotten about all the routines, rules, and night shifts. Suddenly the ship didn’t look all that good. “I’ll miss this too. I don’t know how I’ll sleep without you.”

  The speakers crackled to life, and a voice said, “Welcome home, Commander. Permission to board.”

  Adam landed smoothly as always. “You know… Once the ship is fixed, maybe we can take some shore leave. Go somewhere, just you and me.”

  “That would be so great.”

  He took my hand and kissed my fingers.

  Anya waited in the docking bay. She came running and threw her arms around me. “Alex, I have wonderful news. We’re almost at GA22, and John will be there! Just a few more days.”

  John? Oh yes, her pirate. I had forgotten all about him. I whined over Adam working while she was separated from her love for longer periods of time than I could imagine. Months? Years?

  A quick grimace of disapproval flew over my husband’s face. He probably didn’t like pirates… He still sounded amused when he asked, “Can you guess what GA stands for?”

  “No clue. Some mysterious Confederacy code?”

  Anya clapped her hands together and bounced. “Ooh, the Golden Arches. I’ve heard they were all over in the old days. Is it true?”

  “I… what? Are you talking about McDonalds?” Well, if they named starships after Taco Bell and KFC, why not name a space station after McDonalds. “Do they have fish sandwiches?”

  She frowned. “Do they have what?”

  Adam smirked, shook his head, and reached his hand out to me. It was time to go home.

  *****

  I ogled GA22 through the windows when we arrived. I thought the Bell was big, but the station dwarfed our ship. I couldn’t see any golden arches though. Seeing a huge M float in space would have been fun.

  The radio chirped, and Anya’s voice said, “I’m on my way up to you. Meet me in the corridor, we’ll save some time.”

  Save time for what? I loved all my friends, but trying to follow their lines of thought sometimes made me feel mentally challenged. “Sure… Okay…”

  She came running through the corridor when I stepped out the door. “Come on, Alex. Hurry up.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “To the station to meet John, of course. Time’s a wastin’!”

  “How can you leave the ship?”

  She had trouble standing still while waiting for the lift. “Oh, I transfer all of me to the mobile emitter. It’s a little risky, I might lose data if I run low on power and don’t have another computer to jump into,
but I have spare chargers.”

  The doors opened and revealed my husband standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. He lifted an eyebrow when Anya pulled me in. “Where are you two going?”

  She sounded breathless. “Station.”

  “You’re taking my wife to meet a pirate? I’m coming too.”

  “That’s fine, as long as you hurry up.”

  He rolled his eyes and I flashed a smile.

  Anya and I walked arm in arm through the long corridors of the station. Adam followed with a serene expression on his face. I tried to seem unimpressed, but it was difficult when walking through an indoor city.

  We eventually reached a bar that would have to be the right one; Anya squeezed my arm, squealed, and ran up to a man hunched over it. Adam put a hand on my shoulder and sighed. “Why did it have to be a pirate?”

  “Oh, you hush, just be happy for her.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Only because you say so.”

  “That’s good enough. C’mon, let’s go say hi.”

  John held Anya in his arms and spun her around. They were so cute together. Were Adam and I that cute?

  When he put her down, she turned to us with a million dollar smile. “Alex, Adam, this is my boyfriend, John. John, meet my best friends.”

  He smiled, but when his gaze wandered over us, an expression of pure surprise flew over his face. I dismissed it: I thought he looked and sounded familiar, but it had to be my imagination. There was no way I could have met him anywhere.

  John shook our hands. “Pleasure to meet you.”

  He led the way towards a booth with his arm wrapped securely around Anya’s shoulders. Adam rolled his eyes and I nudged him. “Play nice.”

  My husband bent closer to me and murmured, “You’ll owe me. After this I expect you to wear a sexy nurse suite for a week.”

  That was so unexpected I burst out laughing. He looked very happy with himself.

  It was a matter of minutes before the Captain found us. He nodded to John and me. “I need to borrow my officers for a minute.”

  What could possibly be so important they couldn’t settle it on the ship? Oh well, it might have something to do with the repairs. I shrugged it off and looked at the man next to me. He played with his glass.

  John glanced over at the little Confederacy group and slammed the drink. “I guess the kid turned out alright, huh? I’m glad to see he has a good girl.”

  Who? What? The Captain? John filled his glass and chuckled at my blank face. “You don’t see it, do you? That’s good. If you don’t, no one else will either.”

  If I didn’t see what? Warm hazel eyes evaluated me from a handsome face. Hazel… Adam had hazel eyes. My imagination took a few years off the picture, removed the beard and a couple of inches of hair. “Oh my God!”

  No wonder he looked familiar. How could I not have seen it? John shook his head and answered with the dry humour I’ve come to know so well in his son. “I don’t think God had anything to do with it.”

  “So you’re… you’re… Does Anya know?”

  “I don’t think so. I hope she never will. His mother is an evil megalomaniac bitch.”

  He was drunk already, and had problems with the word megalomaniac, but it came out right after a couple of tries.

  “John Smith isn’t even my real name. Have you ever heard such a fucked up stereotype? But she never found me, so I guess it’s working.”

  Adam’s dad was Anya’s boyfriend, and no one knew. This was a lot to take in at once. “Did you love her?”

  That might not have been the most tactful question, it just jumped out of my mouth, but John didn’t seem to mind. He frowned and stared at his glass. “I thought so. Maybe. She was a beautiful woman. Now I’m not so sure. Do you love my boy?”

  He could probably see the answer on my face, but I said it anyway. “Oh yes. He means the world to me.”

  “Good. That’s good. And you’re Anya’s friend. I guess all is well.”

  I wanted to ask if he loved her, but by now, my brain worked again and I was afraid to. John smirked, as if reading my mind. “The first time I saw her, my life changed.”

  We were out of time; Adam and Anya were on their way back and I slid closer to John on the sofa to make room for my husband. Now when I knew, it was impossible not to see they were copies of each other. How did I miss it?

  Anya sat down on John’s other side, and he threw his arms around us. “My girls!”

  We both giggled, and Adam lifted an eyebrow.

  I didn’t notice how much time passed. John was funny, and it was good to spend some time with a normal person not biased by the Confederacy’s view on everything.

  A stream of John’s acquaintances stopped by our table. Most hurried away when they saw Adam’s uniform, but some stayed to chat. I was especially fascinated with the Rinirions. At first, I thought the beautiful women were twins. They had a vaguely human appearance, and funny enough, John called them both Píreé. Why would parents give twins the same names too?

  One of them went to the bar and the other to the dance floor, and Adam leaned over a little against me. “People on their planet have several bodies controlled by one mind.”

  “What? No way.”

  “Yes. Way.”

  The words sounded funny coming from him, and I giggled. It would be practical to have many bodies. One of me could nap while another worked and a third one partied… “How far apart can they be and it sill works?”

  Adam shrugged. “Some have one body working on a starship while another stays home. It works on the quantum level.”

  He sighed and gave me a serious look. “It’s time for me to go back. Will you be alright?”

  Anya waved him off. “Don’t be such a mother hen, she’ll be fine. And John and I are here.”

  A slight smile tugged at his lips. “That’s what makes me worried.”

  John chuckled and emptied his glass. Was the man bottomless?

  “Call for me the second you need anything. No reason is too small.” Adam held my gaze a moment longer.

  I hesitated, watching him disappear in the crowd. “Adam, wait!”

  He turned around with a quizzical expression on his face. I ran after him. When I had almost reached him, I stumbled on something on the completely flat floor. He caught me and put me back on my feet. “Are you drunk?”

  He sounded amused rather than accusing, and after what happened in the bar with Mika he could hardly blame me. It still made me defensive. “No.”

  “The alcohol balance on your breath and your pupil dilation say otherwise.”

  I wanted to stick my tongue out at him, but he was much too close and his arm around me felt much too good to keep objecting. “Well, maybe a little. Please don’t go.”

  My plea made him smile, and he sounded apologetic. “I have to. You could come with me.”

  Oh yes, I could sit alone all night waiting for him to come home. What fun. Especially compared to chatting with Anya and John. I’d be a third wheel when Adam left, but anyway…

  I shook my head, and he pulled me closer, applying all his charm. “Most of the crew are on shore leave. We have a repair team replacing the Tokamak. It’s just a guard duty manning the radio tonight. Come keep me company.”

  His arm around my waist held me firmly and his lips were close to my skin, making it difficult to think coherently. He was overprotective, but it was sweet too. “Are you sure?”

  He smiled and tightened his grip on me. “Absolutely.”

  I couldn’t say no.

  In my mind, the route between the ship and the bar was pretty simple. In reality, not so much. “Wow, I could have walked around here for days without finding my way home.”

  “No… If you get lost you call for me and I come get you.”

  “Would you do that? Leave your post for me?”

  “I’d figure something out.”

  When we entered the ship I expected to go to the bridge, but Adam led the way in ano
ther direction. “Where are we going?”

  “Observation deck. I figured you’d like that better.”

  “We have an observation deck? What’s an observation deck?”

  He put up an innocent face until we reached a large room. A part of it had consoles like a miniature bridge, and when his skilled hands flew over the controls, the ceiling became transparent. The light from the stars competed with the lights from the station. “Oh wow.”

  “This is an observation deck.”

  “Can we see home from here?”

  “Give me a second…” He pressed something and said, “Bridge, this is Adam reporting in from the observation deck. Please transfer controls here.”

  Jia’Lyn’s voice answered, “You have the ship, Commander.”

  I averted my eyes from the spectacular scenery overhead. “Are you ever worried? That something will happen, I mean.”

  If responsibility for the ship and all the passengers were to rest on my shoulders, I’d be petrified. So many decisions to make, and the wrong one would lead to disaster.

  “No. Things happen all the time. You learn to plan ahead and go with it. Computer, please magnify section two two four, one five nine.”

  A portion of the ceiling moved. “It’s a projection?”

  “Yes and no. Right now, that part is. The rest just serves as a window. See that little dot over there? That’s your sun.”

  Wow. So far away. Since light takes time to travel, maybe the rays I saw were from my own time. Or the time of the dinosaurs… I preferred to think they were from a when I might have experienced. Maybe the very day when I first met Adam.

  A voice called on the radio. “Tokamak engineering crew to bridge. We are ready to remove your device, shift to auxiliary power.”

  My husband walked over to one of the consoles. “Acknowledged. Is the TDD working?”

  “Splendidly, Sir. We will need one on every base.”

  TDD? Aah, it would have to be Time Dilution Device or something like that. Good for Mika and her people. “Won’t we like… float away or something if they take that thingy off the ship?”

  Adam smiled. “Good thinking, but no. We’re on the station’s gravitational field right now.”

  I eventually fell asleep there, curled up in Adam’s arms under the stars. When I woke it was morning, and he was gone. I sat in a soft reclined chair, covered with a quilt. On the floor was a tray with breakfast, a flower, and a note. “Sorry I can’t be here with you. Love, A.”