Rebeka glanced sharply at Tink. A dampening field wasn't meant to keep things out. She looked back at the face framed by the small window and swallowed, wishing she had some coffee. Or something stronger.
Alek craned his neck, his eyes narrowing as he peered at the square of plex. "Huh, I wonder what else is in the box with him then, to warrant such a dampening field. That's not cheap tech."
Rebeka rolled her shoulders to mask the shiver that passed through her, while Tink took a step back from the crate and clutched her arms around herself, rubbing them with her hands.
"I should get back to work on the power system repairs." Tink inched further away. "Life Support needs more juice if we want to shift to Comfort again." She started to turn towards the stairs, but Rebeka grabbed her arm.
"No, I need you to keep examining the box."
Tink opened her mouth as if to protest. Instead, she huffed and went back to inspecting the crate.
"What about the boy?" Kandi asked, tugging at the end of her pink ponytail.
"What about him?"
"Should I examine the boy? He's a living being after all."
Rebeka's lips pursed as she fought the frown that pulled at them. "No, we'd have to unseal the stasis unit to examine him. I'm not prepared to do that."
Alek stopped examining the face in the window, and his head popped up. "Do we even know he's alive?"
"The box thinks he's alive." Ish stabbed a finger at the lights on the lid of the unit.
Severn grabbed his hand and pulled it away. "Don't touch that, you might —"
"What, wake up a child?" Ish jerked his hand free and jabbed the lights again. They flickered in response. Severn's hand reached towards Ish's again as a frown settled on his face.
"Enough," Rebeka said, using her best captain's voice, which was very similar to her upset parent voice, though she hadn't used the latter in years.
Ish and Severn stopped bickering, turning their scowls on her instead. She needed to get them out of their current snafu before tempers tore the crew apart.
"Squabbling won't help." Rebeka turned back to Kandi and added, "Check what you can without cracking it open."
Kandi pressed her lips into a thin line but joined Tink in leaning over the crate without saying anything.
"What will help is getting rid of that box." Severn nodded at the crate.
Rebeka couldn't argue, but she preferred not to be a dictatorial leader — she tried to consult her team before she gave them orders. "We need to decide what to do." She kept her voice even and strong. "Options?"
"Hand him over to the rebels," Alek said. Again, Rebeka found she didn't entirely disagree with the sentiment, even if the idea came from the rash pilot. If the rebels had attacked the Leviathan, they had more firepower — and more chutzpah — than she thought. Certainly more than the Lyra and her crew.
"No." Ish's hazel eyes flashed to Alek as his cheeks reddened. His jaw clenched before he spoke again. "We have no idea what they intend to do with him."
Kandi looked up from the box, her face grim and her voice quiet. "We don't know what the empire plans to do with him either."
"Space him," Tink said, her face hidden by the crate.
"That's not funny, Tink." Ish stuffed his hands into his sweater sleeves as Tink popped her head up, flipping her goggles off her face.
Rebeka shot the engineer a sharp glance. "You're not serious?" She switched her tone to disappointed parent, hoping Tink's words were some horrible attempt at levity gone wrong.
Tink shifted her gaze from Ish to her, rolling her eyes. "Of course not," she said in a tone that wasn't entirely convincing. Rebeka pressed her lips together to keep from snipping. Tink looked away and continued. "But we need to get him off this ship." She waved her scanner at the crate. "Besides the fact that he's probably illegal —"
"I think we can definitely consider him contraband," Alek said.
Tink glanced at him then continued. "Not exactly what I meant, but sure. The ship can't take many more beatings, and I suspect our pursuers are going to keep coming until whoever they are gets what they want. We can't just give them a weed...I think we all know that's not what they want. If they want the kid, let's see what they'll offer for him."
"He's a human being." Ish waved his hand at the stasis unit, drawing Rebeka's attention to the lights and their flashing cycle, reminiscent of dancing firebugs. Their pinpoints of fiery light stabbed at her retinas, needling the headache that threatened to form.
"We don't actually know that," Tink said, her voice quiet. "Despite the Centauri Convention."
"Bollocks to the Dominion's rules!" Ish pulled his left hand out of his sleeve to cut through the air.
Rebeka had never seen the navigator so worked up. "You mean...?" She returned her gaze to Tink before switching her attention to the lights. Bots were one thing, mods too. But wholesale engineering of lifeforms had been severely restricted by the Centauri Convention after the destruction of Eris; though there were still reports of super soldiers going berserk every few years.
The lights finished their dance and went out. Rebeka tipped her head sideways. Then jumped back, her heart pounding, as the boy's eyes opened, his mouth agape in a silent scream.
Rebeka breathed long and slow to get her heartbeat back to normal, then turned to Kandi, who gawped at the box along with everyone else. "Kandi, get your med kit. I think you need to examine the kid after all."
Kandi glanced up at her, blinking rapidly before her eyebrows twitched as she finally processed what Rebeka had said. She gave a sharp nod, then turned to do as asked.
"Alek, grab a stun gun from the weapons cupboard." At his frown, she continued. "Just in case. Severn, get some blankets. He'll be cold and in shock." The two men left, while her, Tink and Ish stood sentry around the box. And the boy it held.