Good Journeys

Once all six Peacekeepers are back at the airlock, their tour complete, the lead Peacekeeper turns to Wil. “Thank you, Captain. Sorry to have taken so much time, but your ship isn’t on record as having entered the Brai sector before, so we had to be thorough.”

Wil nods. “No problem, Centurion Turin, it was our pleasure.” He gestures toward the airlock. “Well, hurry along now, we’d like to get underway.”

The Centurion turns to Zephyr. “Good journeys,” she says, inclining her head.

“And to you,” Zephyr replies, matching the head movement of the other woman.

With that, the Peacekeepers file out the airlock, the inner door closing after the last one crosses the threshold. Wil reaches over and presses his palm to the control panel, closing the outer airlock door. Leaning against the corridor next to the now closed airlock, he exhales loudly, “This is why I avoid the main systems.”

Over the speaker in the ceiling Maxim announces, “Peacekeeper ship is moving off, they have given us clearance to continue on to Brai.”

Wil turns his head to the ceiling. “Roger that, Max. Be right there.”

Zephyr chuckles. “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?”

She mimes Wil’s previous motion. “Look up at the ceiling when you speak to someone over the ship’s comms—or to the computer, for that matter.”

“I do that all the time?”

Zephyr nods. “All, the, time.”

“Huh, I don’t know.” Wil thinks. “Must be something I just picked up. It looks cool though, right?”

Zephyr just shakes her head, as she turns and heads for the bridge hatch around the corner.

Wil hurries after her. As the two enter the bridge he asks, “What’s with the ‘good journeys’ thing, anyway?”

Maxim stands up from the command chair, and returns to his own station. “It’s a traditional Palorian farewell. Turin said it?” He looks at Zephyr, who nods. “Interesting.”

“Why is that interesting?” Bennie asks. “If it’s traditional, wouldn’t it have been weird if she hadn’t said it?”

“It’s typically reserved for those in active service to the GC,” Zephyr answers. “It’s not a rule or anything, though. She may have just been being polite.”

Wil drops into his seat and brings the flight controls back online. “Well, at least it’s over. Now let’s get a move on.” He turns to Zephyr as she’s taking her own seat. “How long to Brai?”

“Three tocks. I’m sending you the flight details. Ship traffic is tightly controlled, both coming and going. They keep speeds to a minimum, and maintain a narrow approach corridor.”

Wil nods, pulling the system chart up on the main display. “Makes sense. Looks like—what? Two hundred ships in sensor range?”

“Two hundred and twenty-nine,” Zephyr replies.

Wil lets out a low whistle. “Busy place.”

“I’ll see if I can get us bumped up in the landing queue,” Bennie offers.

“That’d be nice,” Wil says. “Oh, by the way, you and me? We’re gonna have a little talk about personal space.” He pulls the stuffed animal out from inside his jacket.

“Oh, ha, yeah… Sorry about that…” Bennie waves both hands in front of him.

“Not, even close to good enough. First my video files, then my snacks, now my stuff. Do I even want to know what you were doing with it?”

Bennie makes a face. “Gross! Nothing, I thought it might do something or have a purpose, but then I realized it didn’t and just forgot to put it back. I’m sorry.”

“I doubt that very much,” Maxim mutters under his breath.