It had become one of his favorite spots. Gap stood against the window on the lower level, the one just down the corridor from the Spider bay. It was, he had decided, one of the quietest locations on the ship. Rarely would someone trek to the bay that housed the Spiders and the SAT33 pod, and it was slightly out of the way for anyone who wanted to visit the gym or Airboard track.
Just the secluded setting he was looking for. Hannah stood beside him, her eyes skimming across the brilliant star field before her. The scene usually transfixed Gap as well, but now he found that he couldn’t take his eyes off Hannah.
What a change, he decided. A week earlier he hadn’t been able to think of anything except Triana and Bon. Had his feelings been able to shift so suddenly? Did he really have feelings for this impressive girl from Alaska? And, more important, had his feelings for Triana dissolved completely? Was this a distraction, or was this new infatuation legitimate? And how did one know for sure?
He decided that, for now at least, it didn’t matter. He felt a sense of happiness, and that was an emotion that was alien to him just days ago. Who knew where these feelings would lead? But that was the beauty of exploring them, wasn’t it? Suddenly, all of the weight that had been resting on his shoulders—and his soul—evaporated. And, he concluded, he deserved to feel good for a while.
Without another thought, he put his arm around Hannah and pulled her close. She leaned her head against his shoulder and slowly laced her fingers through his.
I appreciate your honesty with the crew,” Roc said. Triana sat alone at her desk, her journal open before her. The crisis had ended almost six hours earlier, and, although she had tried to sleep, she had tossed and turned until finally she conceded defeat. Sleep was not going to happen for a while.
“If you mean about how close we were to blowing up, there wasn’t much choice,” she said. “The word would have spread eventually.”
“True, but you showed a lot of leadership in letting them know right up front.”
“I just hope I wasn’t overly dramatic. It almost feels unreal to say that we were seconds away from death.”
“But it’s a fact,” Roc said. “If I’m correct—and I’m always correct, by the way—we were down to our last ten seconds.”
Triana slowly shook her head. “It’s too much to think about. I don’t know how many more close calls we can have before our luck runs out. First the stowaway, now the Cassini. We always seem to skate right along the edge, don’t we?”
“It’s why I signed up for this job,” Roc said. “Of course, it was either this assignment, or take that job measuring variables in water pressure in San Diego’s sewer system. Very tough decision, obviously, but I broke down and chose you over San Diego’s toilets.”
Triana put a feigned expression of gratitude on her face. “Oh, Roc, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
She picked up her pen and glanced at what she had contributed to her journal so far: a recap as the crisis unfolded at the end, along with the final gift that the Cassini had bestowed upon the crew of Galahad. That stubborn one percent of power increase held on after all was said and done, pushing the ship along its path that much more quickly. Roc would have to recalculate their course, but that was a challenge he enjoyed.
What had the Cassini left inside the dozen crew members it had linked with? What tweaking had stayed behind in their minds and bodies? Lita had already promised a long, arduous examination, and wouldn’t be satisfied until she knew that all was well. Triana knew one crew member who would grumble throughout the testing.
She looked ahead to the upcoming Council meeting. As a leader, she recognized the importance of lessons learned from any conflict. What had they learned from their first contact with another life-form beyond Earth? How would it serve them should they encounter intelligent life among the planetary system at Eos?
In her own mind, the primary lesson had been one of assumption. She, along with all of the other members of the crew, had experienced what could only be described as the default emotion when faced with something new: fear. Their initial reaction to the power beam had been fear that an alien being was attempting to destroy them. But why? And how ashamed should they be that, all along, the Cassini had only been trying to help? In the end, it came down to communication. We should never forget, she resolved, that understanding one another should be the first step. We assumed an enemy. How long would it take that instinct to wash from the human program?
And during their darkest hours, she had been convinced that things always went wrong. Wasn’t there a personal lesson in there for her, as well?
She reflected on her description of the final connection between Bon and the Cassini. She hadn’t yet received all of the details from him, and so didn’t know exactly how the exchange had played out. The Council meeting was scheduled in about an hour, and she would wait to get the story along with the others.
And isn’t it ironic that, after desperately wanting to know the contents of his mind for so long, suddenly I’m not so sure. It seems to have taken another life-threatening jolt to shake me from my obsession. I still feel something for Bon. At least I think I do. But now it has become an element of my life, not the overriding fixation that it was for months. Of course, this is happening just as Bon seems to have decided to explore his feelings for me. That figures. Will we ever be on the same page at the same time?
She set down the pen, then quickly picked it back up and added one additional line.
I’m not giving up on us yet.
Triana stood, walked over to her bed, and fell onto it. Rolling onto her back, she threw an arm over her eyes and didn’t move for a long time. The sleep that had eluded her began to creep in.
And her final thoughts before drifting away were natural for her.
What adventure awaited them at the mysterious edge of the solar system, the mystifying region known as the Kuiper Belt?
I think a quick recap is in order right now. The ship narrowly averted disaster for the second time in four months, and the Council found a powerful helper in Hannah Ross. That’s all good.
The whirlwind of romance has taken a couple of twists and turns that I just can’t keep up with anymore, so I’m checking out of that scene for a while. Those crazy kids are just going to have to figure it all out for themselves. Or not.
Here’s an interesting thought for you to chew on, however: If the translator truly provided an exchange of thoughts and feelings between Bon and the Cassini, wouldn’t the powerful life force on Titan now be aware of the deadly assault on Earth by Bhaktul Disease? And isn’t the Cassini all about helping? Hmm. Could that mean something down the road?
Galahad will soon be streaking out of the solar system. Knifing through the Kuiper Belt should be a fascinating experience, and since it is most likely the birthplace of Comet Bhaktul, I would expect some frayed emotions to rise. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that there’s not another entity like the Cassini lingering out there in the cold vacuum of deep space. Or, if there is, couldn’t they just ignore us as we shoot by?
I’ll be busy over the next few days reprogramming the ion drive system and doing basic maintenance on the ship. Chores, really. Although I pretty much saved the ship and everyone aboard yesterday—okay, with a little of their help—I still have my chores.
But I think I also need to keep a close watch on the crew. When it comes to getting along with one another, things have been very good. Much too good, if you think about it. How much longer can that last before something—or somebody—pushes the boundaries? Is it fair to expect that 251 teens will all agree on everything all the time?
I would say that’s a no. And I expect that The Cassini Code will be just about the time that things get out of control, with the mystery of the Kuiper Belt as the backdrop.
Read on, my friend.