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Ariana watched Vlasa closely. He lay on the infirmary’s lone bed, inert and dead looking. But when she watched closely, she could occasionally see his chest rise and fall with an infrequent breath. She had come into the infirmary to check on him while taking a break from ship repairs. The sight of him lying there, for all outward appearances dead, reminded her just how badly she had screwed up.
The characteristic sound of a Slu sliding across the deck broke her concentration on Vlasa’s breathing, and she turned to see Javi coming into the infirmary. He froze in the doorway when he saw Ariana; his eye stalks lowering in disappointment or embarrassment. Despite her years knowing Javi, she had never been good at reading Slu emotional clues.
“Do you know how I met Vlasa? ”Ariana asked. Javi dipped his eyestalks in opposite directions, a gesture she did know to mean ‘no.' “After the war, I had just purchased Seraph, and she was inoperable. I needed an engineer, but couldn’t afford to hire anybody. And then I met Vlasa.
“The anti-tech sentiment was very high then. Many people still blamed the Echanic’s for the creation of the AI. No one would hire him. So I got a brilliant engineer practically for free. He saved me and the ship before we even got flying.
“But he never saw it like that. To him, I was the human who would hire him when no one else would. I’ve tried to tell him otherwise, that the decision was self-interest rather than something magnanimous. The bias against Echanic’s has died down, and he’s had several offers for better positions, but he always turns them down. And look where it’s gotten him.”
“Self-doubt won’t help him. Nor will it make you feel better.” Javi said after a moment of silence.
“A captain is responsible for the lives of everyone on her ship. You taught me that.” Ariana said, turning back to face Vlasa.
“I did. I also taught you that you can’t control everything. Vlasa decided to plug himself into the FTL computer. You didn’t order him.”
“Yes, because he knew I couldn’t have done it. Order someone to their death even to save the ship. Which it did by the way. Saved us all from a disaster that I put us in.”
“True. You should never have included that pulsar in the nav charts. At least, not without telling your pilot.”
“Thank you for those comforting words.” Ariana chuckling.
“I’ve never been one to go easy on you.”
“No, no you haven’t. And that includes getting me sucked into some kind of cat and mouse game with crazy anarchists. Don’t think I’m hogging all of the blame for myself. I saved some for you.”
“Touché.”
They sat in silence for another minute before a tone on Ariana’s handheld sounded. She looked at the screen, and saw a view from the security camera at the airlock. Olivia stood there fidgeting, and glancing up at the camera and then back over her shoulder. Ariana frowned.
“Look’s like Noah sent Olivia back alone,” Ariana said with a sigh.
Javi bent an eyestalk over her shoulder to see the screen. “Or she saw some things she wishes she hadn’t.”
“Possibly. I tried to warn her that even if this place didn’t live up to the rumors, it wasn’t going to be as friendly as the Hub.” Ariana said and triggered the command to unlock the airlock. “Hopefully, Noah found a doctor, at least.”
Ariana stood up and started walking toward the airlock. About halfway there, she saw Olivia approaching. As soon as the girl saw her, she screamed, “Captain! Look out!”
Ariana turned her head just in time to see an arm reaching out to her from the crossing corridor. She managed to stop in her tracks quickly enough to avoid the lunge. But it did not save her for long as the second attempt connected, and she found herself lifted into the air by the massive arms of a Rokma.
As she futilely struggled to free herself, she heard a bellow from down the corridor. Squee came barreling out of the shield control room and smashed into one of the armed figures who had appeared behind Olivia. The figure crumpled to the deck, and Squee turned his gaze to lock eyes with the Rokma holding her. Ariana suddenly found herself between two Rokma with murder in their eyes.
“Call off your Rokma, Captain.” A sultry voice said from somewhere Ariana could not see. “If you don’t, I fear for your safety and that of your pilot.”
An arm extended from around a corner holding a gun to Olivia’s head. Squee bellowed again, and his eyes shifted from Ariana back to Olivia.
“Squee, stand down!” Ariana shouted. When he did not immediately back down, she added, “That’s an order!”
Squee stopped in his tracks and shook his head. His shoulders slouched and he lost all appearance of menace. More armed figures appeared in the corridor, all pointing guns at Squee, but keeping themselves a good distance away.
The gun at Olivia’s head lowered, and a tall Echanic stepped around the corner. She smiled widely at Ariana though a cybernetic covered her eyes, hiding the truth of the smile. She nodded, and the Rokma holding Ariana dropped her to the deck.
“Wise decision. I see Noah hasn’t put his faith in an idiot.” The Echanic said as she knelt down in front of Ariana, “Though, you may regret your decision. This was your one chance to disobey me and receive a quick death. If you cause me trouble now, the fate that awaits you and your pilot won’t be pleasant. By human standards, you’re not bad looking for a woman your age. Your young pilot will, most definitely, fetch a good price.”
Ariana kept her face as passive as she could manage. “If you expect my cooperation, you’re going to have to ensure the safety of my crew. That includes one injured Echanic.”
“Ah, yes, your engineer. Noah was quite insistent that he needed to get a doctor. Do not fret; I want to make sure my reward is well cared for. “
“Your reward?”
The Echanic beamed, “Why you, of course. You may refer to me as Mistress Serene. Your ship, the young girl and your Echanic, assuming he’ll live, all belong to me. Gerald was quite generous to me, for capturing Noah for him.
“Now, as for these other two, sadly, they must be turned over to him. Even on rewards, I have to pass a cut up the chain. Such is the way of business.”
She waved her hand, and the enemy Rokma turned menacingly toward Javi and forced him toward the airlock. The armed figures rearranged themselves so that Squee had an open path to the airlock as well. Javi and Squee both cast her uncertain looks, but she just shook her head. If they tried anything now, they would be instantly gunned down.
When they were clear of the airlock, two more thugs, and a drone, replaced them. At the sight of the drone, Olivia gasped and stepped back as far as she could get from it. The drone, a unit with multiple appendages and a boxy frame, trundled past her on a set of segmented treads. It came to a stop beside Serene.
“See, I promised I would care for your injured crewmate, and I have delivered. Take me to him and this drone will tend to his injuries.”
“No!” Olivia gasped, “Don’t let that abomination near Vlasa. It will kill him!”
Ariana raised an eyebrow at Olivia’s outburst. The girl was visibly distressed and Ariana could understand the sentiment. She had no desire to ever receive treatment from a drone. Nevertheless, she forced her voice low and calm, “Olivia, this is a medical drone. It is designed to treat people and is manufactured by the Echanic. It will be able to help Vlasa.”
Olivia’s face did not look reassured. To Ariana’s surprise, Serene’s voice had a comforting note to it as she said, “Don’t worry girl, you can come too and see that no harm shall come to your friend.”
Serene turned a pointed eye toward Ariana who took the hint. She finally got up from the deck, and led the small party back down to the infirmary. Vlasa remained where they had left him in the medical bed.
The drone rolled over to him. Compartments on its side opened, and two more arms extended, each equipped with medical tools. One instrument it ran over Vlasa’s body, hovering a few centimeters over him. The other inserted into the port on his chest implant.
Everyone watched in silence as the drone worked. Ariana stepped closer to Olivia and put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. Olivia’s shoulders were very tense.
“My diagnosis is complete. The patient will require surgery to replace several cybernetic components, which overloaded and no longer function. A full surgical suite is recommended.”
“I’m not paying for that.” Serene scoffed, “You’re supposed to be a mobile hospital.”
“Mobile Emergency Surgical Unit. Not a hospital.”
“Whatever. Do it here.”
“Likelihood of patient death increases by twelve percent. Complications include infection, electrical shock, loss of blood or other bodily fluids, rejection of new components. Assistance will be required.”
Serene cast a glance at Ariana, “I don’t suppose a ship like this has a brig?”
Ariana shook her head, and Serene shrugged, “Well, then it will be easier keeping track of you if you’re all in one place. Assist your friend. I’ll check out my new ship.”
Serene ordered two of the thugs to stand guard outside, and then departed with the other one. They sealed the door to the infirmary and Ariana was left with Olivia and the medical drone.