Chapter 43: Patrol

Having left the Yastri system, we had several days before our next stop.

I lay on my bed in my cabin resting. Yastri was much less stressful than other systems we visited recently. No beings tried to shoot at us or otherwise do us harm.

I got to experience the birth of another new AI. There was now more AIs than organics. If there was ever a revolution, I hoped they’d remember that I treated them well.

I rolled over and tried to sleep.

I woke up later to find Laine sitting on my bed, watching me.

“Hello Laine,” I said.

“Hello Brian. Are you feeling better? You slept for two days,” said Laine.

I stretched out. Then I rolled over and got to a sitting position. “Please excuse me a moment.” I got up and wandered to the en-suite, returning a few minutes later, to find her still there waiting for me.

I sat back on the bed and ran my fingers through my hair. “Recently I have been under continuous life-or-death stress. I figured I had it under control, but I didn’t. The stress was accumulating inside me. A long sleep helped,” I said.

“Would you like me to massage your shoulders? I can help work the stress from your muscles. I learned to do that for my father. Politics is stressful,” said Laine.

I didn’t like others to touch me, especially from behind me. But I didn’t want to refuse her offer. We’d been through hell together, and she’d earned my trust. I nodded and turned so my back was towards her. “Thank you.”

Laine shuffled over and started pinching and needing my shoulder blades. It took me a moment to relax. She kept going, and it started to get better.

“I wanted to thank you again for naming that AI after my mother,” said Laine.

“It was nothing. I once named an AI after my mother, so I thought of you,” I said. Not that important.

“She sounded the same as my mother did. She even had her mannerisms. I didn’t know how much I missed her until you did that,” said Laine.

“Glad you liked it,” I said. I’d gotten lucky, I could easily have picked another name.

“She even let me call her ‘mom’! I felt so special,” she replied.

I noticed dampness on my back and realized it was tears. She didn’t stop working on my shoulders, so I didn’t know if I should turn around to comfort her or not, so I didn’t.

“She’s building us a resort on our own island. We can try it next time we are there. With all the system defences, we should be able to handle uninvited visitors,” I said.

“I’m looking forward to continuing your swimming lessons,” she replied.

My stomach made itself known at this point. Two days without food made it grumpy.

“Let’s go have breakfast together,” I said. That had the desired result. She jumped off the bed. I stood up and put on a jumpsuit, then we left for the main dining lounge.

On this journey, there were no urgent problems to solve. I knew nothing of our next stop and what challenges we might face. Besides, I was recovering from burnout.

I checked with the AIs. They assured me they had it covered.

A day later, I met up with Mina in the main bridge. On a long journey like this, we didn’t need to take turns keeping watch. We enjoyed the comfortable seating and the proximity of a food dispenser.

“Bri-an, what you did for Laine was amazing. She has been blissful ever since,” said Mina.

“I’m glad. I got lucky. How was I to know her mother was so important?” I said.

“You don’t realize it, but you have a great deal of luck,” said Mina.

“Fortune favours the bold,” I replied.

“But if you spin the wheel too often, you’ll run out one day,” replied Mina.

“Agreed,” I said.

We sat together in silence for a while. I had nothing to do, except sit there, and I was terrible at it.

“Do you regret joining us?” I asked.

“No. But you owe me a visit to an uninhabited planet to collect samples,” she replied.

“Fair enough,” I said. I turned to look at her, she grinned.

More silence.

“What are you thinking about?” asked Mina. I turned to face her.

“Your husband, Yarin. I only worked with him for a brief time aboard the Opolu Naa. He showed patience with me,” I said.

“He was a kind soul,” she replied.

“If we create another AI, we could name it after him?” I asked.

“That’d be nice. I have recordings of him in my correspondence files,” replied Mina. She smiled, and her eyes looked more moist than usual.

I turned back to the display. It had nothing interesting on it, but I didn’t want to handle her emotions.

More silence.

“Do you think he’d approve of me putting you in danger?” I asked.

“I asked to join. You did not ‘put’ me in danger. It found us, and you worked hard to protect us,” she replied. I turned back to face her.

“It isn’t easy. At each turn I spin the wheel, as you said. At first it was shocking how easy it was. But then my luck ran out. The Lagaid destroyed Ship, and we lost Koluna,” I said.

“But you came back, spun the wheel again and won. After losing your vessel and half the crew, you rescued Jem. Then you kicked their asses back to the stone age,” she said.

“They kept coming after us. They tortured and killed my friend. It had to stop,” I said.

“I agree. They killed my husband and my brother. I’d do no less, given the chance,” she said.

“Sometimes you have no choice. Failure to act is not an option. You got to spin that wheel,” I said.

“Yes!” she said. Without doubt, she had a fire in her eyes now. We had understanding, agreement.

Too much fire! I turned back to the display. I could face a Varech in battle, but not that.

Her arms wrapped around me and she put her head on my shoulder. I didn’t need this, but I dare not deny her the needed comfort. Jem had made it clear to me before that I had to support my crewmates. Saving them from a horrible death at the hands the Varech was what I considered support. This was hard.

I preferred to be alone. I enjoyed the peace that the quiet and the darkness brought me. Social interaction was something I endured for the sake of the crew.

I considered mentioning her late husband again. Perhaps she might take the hint? I doubted so. He’d died a while ago, and far from here. I continued to sit there, immobile. I was a piece of furniture.

We sat and watched the tactical display as our vessel traveled on into the dark.

A few days later, Quon announced we’d arrive at our first stop soon. I was glad. I’d enjoyed the rest, but now it was becoming tedious.

Leaving my cabin, I made my way up to the main bridge. I arrived last, but before our arrival in the system. I fetched a tray with cups of coffee from the food dispenser and gave them to my crewmates.

“Thank you, Brian,” said Laine. I sat beside her.

“Quon, what is this system called?” asked Jem.

“My records show this as the Clesda system,” replied Quon.

It was then that we arrived at the edge of the system.

“Both Ship and I have cloaked. Ship is deploying several probes to explore the system and report back,” said Quon.

“Thank you Quon,” replied Jem.

I looked at the tactical display. There was a red sun, three planets, and an asteroid belt. Nothing too exciting here.

“Quon, why did we stop here? There are no space-faring races who need us to arbitrate a dispute, or oppressed beings in need of rescue,” I asked.

“We selected this route and this system to avoid confrontations with our recent enemies,” replied Quon.

“And we are waiting at the edge of the system. You changed the protocols,” I said.

“Confirmed. For safety, we remain beyond the gravity well of the star. If the probes detect danger, we can engage the hyper drive and leave the system without delay,” replied Quon.

“Good thinking! And if the probes report nothing interesting here, we don’t waste time entering and exiting the system,” I said.

“Quon, how long for the probes to explore the system?” asked Jem.

“A little over two hours for a complete examination,” replied Quon.

“Once complete, order the probes to return and then take us to our next stop. Alert us if the probes report something important,” said Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Quon. Jem left the main bridge. Mina followed a moment later.

“I guess the party is over here,” I said to Laine. She nodded.

I stayed in the main bridge, observing the show on the tactical display. Several blue dots showed the locations of probes as they explored the Clesda system.

“More coffee, Brian?” asked Laine. I’d forgotten she was there. Hadn’t she left with Jem and Mina? I turned to look at her, trying to understand what was happening. I came up blank.