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Doc Edison reached for the wrist that still wore the thick magnetic cuff. He flipped my hand so it was palm-side up. His eyes took in the security bracelet and then returned to my face. I slowly extended my arm to make it easier for him to draw the blood he needed.
When he finished, he removed the vial from the needle and sealed it with a plastic cap, covered the cap with reflective security tape, and dropped the whole thing into a small bag that he also sealed. He nestled the vial in a black case filled with gray foam and sealed that too. He picked up his scanner and wanded it over the spot on my arm where the needle had been. The pinprick healed in seconds.
“I’d say I have everything I need. I’ll notify Yeoman D’Nar that you’ll be in your quarters for the duration of the night.” He closed his medical bag and stood up. “Good evening, Lt. Stryker.”
I kept my eyes on the magnetic floor by his feet. “Thank you, Doc.”
He put his finger under my chin and raised my face. “You did a brave thing tonight. Neptune is an idiot. We need more crew members like you, not less.” He smiled. “Now the important question: sugar pop or sugar shot?”
“Pop,” I said.
He handed me a blue sugar pop. “Hang tight. You’ll be back in your quarters soon.” He turned around and left.
The realization that he knew my secret and wasn’t going to turn me in overwhelmed me. I took the sugar pop to the small sink and ran water over the outside of it to dissolve the sanitary casing, and then stuck it into my mouth. The pure sugar would help return my body to its normal equilibrium after having given blood. Other members of the crew might have chosen the shot because it was immediate. Plus, sugar pops were associated with kids. After everything that had happened today, I didn’t much mind taking a moment to return to the days when it felt like someone else was taking care of me.
A few minutes after the doc left, the doors to the elevator swished open, and the entertainment director who had been dining with Yeoman D’Nar walked in. He wore the same dress whites he’d had on at First Dinner. I would have expected him to change as soon as he could to avoid getting it soiled.
The entertainment director pushed his white glasses up the bridge of his nose with his pointer finger and then stepped into the cell and held out his hand. “We haven’t been formally introduced. I’m Purser Frank.”
“Sylvia Stryker.”
“I know. I heard about what happened in engineering tonight. Doc asked me to escort you to your quarters.”
“I’m sorry if I—we—disrupted the dinner service. From what I saw before we left, it was going to be an exceptional opening night.”
“Opening night is a bit of a testing ground. Meet the passengers, mingle, find out what it is they want from their trip aboard Moon Unit 5. A surprising number of them asked when the nitrous oxide would be released.” He chuckled. “Someday I’ll find out how those rumors get started.”
“So there’s no laughing gas in The Space Bar? I thought I saw tanks of it being wheeled in.”
“You must have been mistaken. Oxygen—that’s what keeps people alert and vibrant. One hundred percent pure oxygen is piped in from the minute we open at Zulu Sixteen until we close at Zulu Two.”
Zulu Sixteen referred to the sixteenth hour after midnight on the ship. Zulu time had been adopted on most spaceships because the personnel came from various planets, and interplanetary travel had become the norm. The hour the ship was sealed became Zulu Zero, and we all operated on Zulu time until we were docked at the space station regardless of where we’d come from. It was the best way to keep us all in sync.
“I didn’t realize The Space Bar was open that late.”
“We adjust the hours as needed by the guests. And don’t spend another minute worrying about the distraction. Captain Swift told me he instructed Neptune to get to engineering. I wouldn’t have expected Neptune to care much either way about leaving his date alone at the table. He gets points for taking you with him.”
I started to protest and explain that Neptune and I hadn’t been on a date until it occurred to me that Neptune had ample opportunities to clear that up himself. According to Neptune, I had to go with him because I was in his custody. If he was keeping that a secret from the other members of the ship, then he must have a reason. And the only reason I could come up with was that he didn’t have grounds to hold me in the cell. Explaining my temporary incarceration would have put him in a negative light. Maybe I could use this to my advantage.
I stood up and followed the purser out of the sublevel, onto the elevator, and up to my floor. We turned left and walked side by side to my quarters. It was late, and the halls were empty. We had six more days of travel before reaching Ganymede. The captain and his first officers would be off tonight which meant the second in command of each station would be on the bridge.
“Purser Frank, who’s responsible for taking over duties of the second navigational officer?”
“What do you mean?”
“The second nav officer was dead in the uniform ward earlier today. I was the one who found him, and I reported it to the bridge. I just realized that the first officers were all required to be at First Dinner, which means the second in command would be on the bridge, wouldn’t they? But with no second navigation officer, who would be responsible for keeping us on course?”
“Funny you should ask. Yeoman D’Nar stepped into that role. Her degree in general space sciences made her the most qualified person on the ship.”
“But she was with you at First Dinner.”
“Only to make an appearance. She left shortly after you and Neptune did.”
“Is that why she didn’t come get me herself? The uniform ward is under her umbrella of responsibility, and I would have expected her to know where I was and why I was there. With her additional responsibilities, will she still be my boss?”
“Temporarily. We have a stop scheduled at the next space station.”
I stopped outside of my door. “I thought Moon Unit 5 went directly to Ganymede? Won’t the passengers be alarmed if we start making unscheduled stops?”
The purser held his finger up to his mouth and then pointed to my door. I waved my hand over the sensor and the doors swished open. We went inside. The doors swished shut.
“This isn’t public knowledge, but they told me you know what’s been going on.”
“A little. Why?”
“Just this. The captain is concerned. He arranged a stop off on Colony 5. He’s telling passengers it’s a chance to shop for space souvenirs, but Federation Council is sending a representative to join us for the duration of the trip. Once Neptune makes an arrest, he’ll place them in the custody of Federation Council representative, who will take charge of them until we land at our final destination. The ship will be safe and the crew can focus on their jobs. And if one of our own is responsible for the crimes, then having a neutral party on board will eliminate any possible loyalties that have already formed.”
“Sounds like the captain thought of everything.”
“This was Neptune’s plan. He said it all fell into place after he spoke to Federation Council about what happened tonight.”
“He didn’t,” I said.
“He did. Captain Swift wants to keep details quiet from the passengers, but he ordered Neptune to call the federation and see about getting you a commendation for your role in the crisis. From what I understand, they were very interested in your act of bravery.”
Of course, they were. Because as far as Federation Council knew, I had no place being on the ship. Neptune, the jerk, had figured out a way to have me removed from Moon Unit 5 without even having to do the dirty work himself. Worse, I was going to be arrested by the same people who had convicted and banished my dad.
“Did they tell you who they were going to send?” I asked. Might as well start prepping now for the inevitable comments about my dad and resulting judgment and humiliation. At least if I could dig up some background on whoever was joining us, I’d be able to prepare a defense.
“Yes. The Council is sending their youngest member, Vaan Marshall.”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. If that was true, Neptune had made a bad decision. Vaan was the one person who would know I’d gotten the post on board the ship through possibly illegal methods. Before he’d gone straight and been accepted onto Federation Council, he was a better hacker than I was. In hacking, just like in love, Vaan Marshall taught me everything I knew.