Chapter Six

Evan rubbed his palm and stared at the screen, blinking to bring his eyes back into focus. The time displayed softly in the corner of the monitor at his request and showed he had only a half hour left before the alarm would wake Alex. That was just enough time to get cleaned up and have breakfast ready. He stood and stretched, then headed for his room to get cleaned up. The last three hours at the computer simulation proved time and again the theory was sound, but this was his first time investigating engine designs and ship specs. Hell, it was practically the first time he’d been assigned a task that didn’t directly involve the theft of someone else’s hard work and experimentation. But he was sure it would work. It had to, now that he’d assured Alex it would.

There was no reason why it wouldn’t. His inexperience shouldn’t come into play here, since he’d simply evaluated the data and discovered equipment not being used to its full potential. Yes, it would work, and Alex would be pleased to find the Ascalon had increased her speed and his chances of finding what he needed to find before his competition. Evan was pleased to find he would have some value here. He finished his shower and got dressed just as his Keeper was waking up.

Alex was proving to be an interesting man, complex and simple at the same time. Spencer would have stolen Franklin’s plans and had Evan disable the ship entirely. And on a certain level, he felt Alex would have been right to do the same. But he hadn’t. As angry and betrayed as he’d felt, he only allowed Evan to let them know what he was capable of. And the fact that he hadn’t done what they themselves most surely would have. Of course, that hadn’t kept Evan from looking around while he was in there. His first impressions of his new Keeper were altering nearly every day. The man might be naive about a lot of things, but concerning his ship and his own morals, he was nothing if not in command. A little blinded by his own drive and purpose, maybe, but definitely in command.

“Good morning.” Alex came out of his room still buttoning his shirt. “Oh, man, you read my mind. I usually forget breakfast.”

Evan set the last steaming plate on the table. “I know. I read the history log of your galley orders, and historically there were only two requests for breakfast, with Jeff’s preferences and those of his wife.”

“I tend to get busy and forget things like that.”

“Like eating?”

Alex shrugged. “Eating, sleeping. When I get into something I get a little focused. Just wait till we get closer to that nebula.” He grinned and shoved a filled fork into his mouth.

“We’ll be there sooner when the mixture is changed.” Evan sat down and picked up his cup of coffee. He’d made his own cup with extra caffeine to help shake off such an early start to the day. Alex was unaware of his long hours at the computer while he slept and Evan felt it best not to worry him. It will work.

“Good.” Alex continued to eat, then started chuckling lightly. “Right about now, Franklin’s getting his knees showered.”

“I’m sure Jeff will tell him that was me before he can research it himself.” He remembered the look of shock and suspicion on the man’s face that afternoon, when he’d realized what Evan was doing and how. “He’ll probably scan his ship’s files thoroughly, assuming we’ve been through them.”

“Let him. A little paranoia might be a good thing. I just wish I could see his face when the Ascalon accelerates and leaves him behind. Thank God Jeff wasn’t here when you figured that out.”

“All the simulations worked well. I’ve run as many variants as I could think of, and your Chief agreed with my assessment.” Evan had been quite surprised to find the crew as willing as he had. Most people resented having a Sha’erah suddenly running their show, giving orders that were always backed up by the Keeper who’d sent him. Sometimes that kind of unswerving faith was frightening, but so far he’d never failed. At least never with Spencer. Alex hadn’t really given many orders yet. He was more into suggesting, leaving Evan to try and figure out what he expected of him and how best to help.

“Well then, it has to be right.” Alex picked up his plate and shoved it through the disposal, then finished his coffee with one swallow. “Kitt only respects knowledge and experience, and doesn’t trust those engines to anyone who doesn’t possess much experience.”

Evan wasn’t sure if that was a compliment, or meant to remind him that Alex might very well take his Engineer’s side over anything he’d try to do, should the two of them ever have a difference of opinion. He had to keep reminding himself his new Keeper was still clueless about Sha’erah.

“I got a message from Kitt when I got up this morning. He’s ready when we are.”

“I’m ready.” Evan jumped to his feet, anxious to see if his findings would work in a real application.

Alex led the way down the corridor to the lift. “He was probably up all night long working on more simulations.” The hallway was quickly filling with day-shift crew making their way to their stations to relieve the night shift. Everyone greeted them with a quick nod or smile. “I’m betting you were up half the night doing the same thing.”

Evan shrugged as they stepped into a crowded elevator and descended several levels before switching to a vertical car they had to themselves.

“I can set up a desk for you in the office, if you want.” Alex stood at the head of the transport car, leaning on the safety rail. “Jeff usually used my desk since I’m up and down a lot.”

“I don’t need a desk. Just a terminal.” Evan watched the positional indicator click the sections by. His anxiousness was a surprise, but impossible to deny. “There’s one at the end of that couch. That’s all I need.”

“You know, they don’t bite.”

“What?” Evan glanced around, wondering if there had somehow been an animal or rodent in the car with them he hadn’t noticed before.

“The crew. People in general.” Alex waved a hand. “You never speak to me when other people are around.”

“It’s not proper.”

“What do you mean?”

“For a Sha’erah to speak openly to his Keeper in – “

“Okay, wait a sec.” Alex shook his head and raised both hands. “It’s time we did something about this Keeper stuff.” Before he could continue, the car eased to a stop. “All right, maybe after this thing in Engineering.” He stepped out and led the way into the main Engineering room.

Evan nodded to appease the man. If this was going to be another one of his ramblings about feeling strange thinking of himself as an owner, it could certainly wait.

“Captain, we’re all set to go.” Kitts greeted the two of them enthusiastically. “Evan, I’ve run every simulated test I can think of and it still wants to work.”

“I ran several other variations this morning.”

“I knew it.” Alex laughed shortly. “Okay, boys, let’s get this show on the road.”

Chief Kitts gathered his staff together and explained what they were about to do and how he needed to accomplish it. Evan stood quietly beside Alex, watching the faces of the crew alternate between skepticism and surprised understanding. Several glances were directed his way, but they would quickly dart back to Kitts when they realized he was watching them. It was always best to have a small measure of mystery and intimidation working in your favor.

“Let’s get to work, people!” Kitts clapped his hands and his staff scurried to their stations. “Shouldn’t be more than a few minutes Captain.”

“Perfect.” Alex nodded toward the center of the room. “I want to watch the Vision fade out behind us.”

While the crew set about changing the mixture of fuel and preparing the Ascalon’s engines for full speed, Evan found himself looking at Franklin’s ship on the large monitor in the center of the room. Alex was watching it quietly, probably still steaming over Jeff’s having left and what it meant to have his former second-in-command now on board his only rival’s ship. If only they knew what Evan had learned about his new Keeper’s mapping secrets. Jeff had no way of knowing Alex didn’t have a plan for navigating the nebula, and no doubt had been trying since yesterday to access those files. Of course, if Alex knew what Evan had found while he was inside the Vision’s files, he might think differently about the situation.

It was clear Franklin held Alex’s reputation in high regard. His own mapped route was one of extreme caution and, if followed strictly, would keep him in the nebula’s gasses for years trying to make his way through the giant. His plan was to skirt the outside and make cross-point reconnaissance back and forth, finding the safest route inside while relying heavily on probe data to search further inside and locate turbidium. In fact, the Vision’s stores showed ten times as many probes as the Ascalon carried. But, from what Evan had been able to learn so far, any discovery would have to be physically claimed. Even if Franklin found a source first, he’d have to get a transport vessel there to tag the planet in order to claim it.

As tempting as it was to let Alex know what he’d learned, Evan had to refrain. He’d been told not to steal Franklin’s files – technically he hadn’t – but he refused to let such an opportunity go to waste, even if Alex didn’t want to know what he saw or the fact that he’d seen it. He could sense there would be a lot of things Alex wouldn’t want to know, as opposed to Spencer who always wanted to know everything. The two men were very different, sometimes. He wondered if that would have been true had Spencer raised Alex.

“We’re all set, Captain.”

Evan felt a rush of anxiety surge through his body as Kitts waited for the order.

“Let’s do it.” Alex watched the screen, with speed and distance indicators relative to the Vision’s position displaying at the bottom edge.

“Bridge, prepare for full speed.”

“Full speed, aye.”

Kitts flipped the last switch, altering the mixture of the fuel, and looked at Evan expectantly. Within seconds, there was an audible change in pitch of the four huge engines beneath their feet. He glanced at the indicators. “Full speed achieved at .08.9.1124B. Increasing.”

Evan knew his face wasn’t reflecting the anxiety he felt. Showing any emotion in public, especially doubt when he’d assured his Keeper the changes would work, wouldn’t be acceptable. But propriety never stopped him from feeling.

“Captain, this is Com. The Vision is hailing us.”

“Ignore him.” Alex continued to stare at the screen, watching as the other ship rapidly fell behind.

“Full speed plus .75.” Kitts called out. “Plus 2.”

Evan swallowed.

“Full speed plus 3.4”

The engines purred, vibrating the floor ever so slightly as they tasted their new-found power.

“I can’t believe it! It worked!” Kitts beamed with pride. “Captain, I’m pleased to say we’ve just increased our normal cruising speed by 3.5 marks.”

The relief was incredible, but Evan held on to some of his original fear, just in case something changed.

“Look at that.” Alex pointed to the screen, then looked at Evan. “He doesn’t know what hit him.”

“He could figure it out and do the same.”

“Maybe. But we did it first. Anything he does now will be catch-up.” He grinned, then slapped Evan on the shoulder. “That ought to rattle him good.”

“Who? Jeff, or Franklin?”

Alex shrugged, then turned to Kitts. “We’ll be on the bridge. Keep up the good work.”

“It was all his doing, Captain, there’s no denying that.” Kitts nodded to Evan. “He’s welcome to poke his head around my engine systems anytime.”

Evan thought that should have gone without saying, but he nodded once in acknowledgment before following Alex back up through the ship to his bridge office. Once there, Alex settled in behind the desk and returned to his study of the data from the early probes while Evan sat on the couch and pulled the attached computer terminal around to face him. The engine improvements had gone well, but there was still an entire ship he had to study up on if he was to meet his own full potential in this new life. Especially if Alex was going to leave so much of that up to him.

Several hours into his study of shielding and space particle avoidance, the reminder alarm he’d set went off.

“What’s that?” Alex didn’t even look up from his intense study of the probe data.

“Lunch. You’ve been so focused I knew you’d forget to eat.” Evan put his program on hold and pushed the monitor aside, standing up to stretch. “Do you want me to bring something up here or would you rather take lunch with the others?”

Alex nodded absently, still staring at his data sheets. “Yeah, that’s fine, whatever.”

Evan opened his mouth to insist Alex clarify his answer, but he changed his mind. “I’ll bring it up.” Without waiting for another absent nod, he left, heading down to the main galley. Lunch could have been ordered from their quarters and delivered quickly through their private galley, but Evan needed to stretch his legs and wanted another look around the ship. He’d been paying such close attention to specific details, he hadn’t really seen the ship itself.

Only the living section was carpeted and decorated in soothing colors, with the rest of the ship adorned in the more common ship-gray. It held a surprising amount of windows for a deep space vessel, comparable to many luxury liners, affording everyone on board the opportunity to gaze out at the stars. Evan wondered if every private room held as large a window as Alex’s. The energy required to properly protect such a variation in the skin of a spacecraft was considerable, but from what he’d seen so far, these deep space explorers valued the chance to see where they were going first hand, instead of relying solely on the view screen displays. A nice luxury if you could afford it, but not at all practical for navigation or investigation.

Evan avoided the transport lifts and used the emergency stairways and access ladders to make his way down to the main galley level. He wanted to learn every inch of this ship, and find enough alternate routes to get him anywhere he needed to be in a hurry. As he passed the main lift doors, several occupants glanced at him, then turned to each other and began whispering. It was normal, as far as he was concerned, so he continued on to the end of the corridor and through the door marked DOWN LADDER.

When Evan reached his desired level, he found himself in a rarely used access corridor running parallel to the main hallway. Every ten yards or so were two doors, one leading to the main hallway, and another on the opposite wall. Each of those was marked as storage, with access panels describing the level of security needed to access the items stored inside. Evan knew from what data he’d studied that most of these rooms held very expensive probes and delicate instruments necessary to evaluate the nebula once the Ascalon drew close enough to begin a serious investigation.

As he passed one door of medium security, he heard a noise behind the door. Muffled voices, from the sound of it. Evan touched the keypad and quickly found the correct access codes. The door opened willingly and immediately the room’s lights flicked on. No sounds greeted his entry and no voices called out to see who had just entered. Cautiously, Evan stepped through the doorway and examined the tightly packed room. Rows and rows of monitoring equipment, geological survey samplers, and other technical items Evan couldn’t readily identify were the only occupants. There were no other exits from the room, but it was larger than he’d expected, with crates stacked five-high, each sealed with individual locks.

There was clearly no one in the room. Evan sighed and went back out into the corridor, locking the door behind him. The main hallway was close enough, and he’d just passed a door leading to it. The sounds must have been from there. He took the next exit and re-entered the main walkway. Yes, that had to be it. The corridor was crowded with crewmen and women either walking to or from the galley, with several groups of them congregating outside to converse and clog the corridors.

Most of them hushed as Evan walked by. Nothing unusual about that. He glanced around, taking in as many faces as he could without making too much of a point of it. No need to make them any more nervous than most of them already were. Not one face jumped out as being out of place, or even recognizable, so he continued on to the galley and retrieved lunch.

He hadn’t thought about Harvey since boarding the Ascalon. The idea that he’d managed to smuggle himself or any of his men onboard didn’t make sense. Alex had made his choice, the ring reflected that in no uncertain terms, even if Alex himself still seemed quite uncertain about the whole thing. Evan found himself more amused than annoyed now. It was clear Alex Marcase was no fool – contrary to Evan’s first impressions of the man – but it was just as clear his new Keeper spent much of his life somewhat . . . distracted. Those original fears that Spencer Marcase’s son would be no better than his father were finally fading away like a week-old nightmare.

The only thing that still gave Evan chills was how close he’d come to being Signus Harvey’s newest assassin. And he would have had no one to blame but himself. Having Alex as a Keeper might be frustrating at times, and it had the potential to be boring on occasion, but Evan felt he was ready for boring, and could probably handle the frustration. It would make a nice change from stealing, blackmailing, extortion, and the constant danger of being a body guard to a man who made his fortune doing them.

“What’s this?”

“Lunch.” Evan sat on the couch with his and nodded at the plate he’d just placed in front of Alex.

“Oh, I didn’t realize what time it was.”

“You don’t remember me asking if you were hungry?”

Alex nodded, barely taking his eyes from the scans on his desk. “No.”

“Just so I know, am I going to have to remind you when to eat all the time?”

“What?” Alex looked up, almost startled. “Oh, right. No.” He leaned back, rubbing his eyes, then reached for his plate. “Yeah, probably.”

“I thought as much.”

“Look at this.” The large screen in the corner of the room flicked to life as Alex sat forward again.

Evan glanced at the display and recognized the data sheet he’d seen the other day, with the upper left corner magnified to show the strange, dark glob of static.

“This thing is driving me nuts. The feedback is so constant, not like a natural formation at all. I wish we were close enough for a better scan, but we won’t be for another week.”

“That’s in the upper quadrant, thousands of miles from the nearest insertion point.”

Alex nodded. “I know. And we’re steering clear of it for now. I don’t know if Franklin’s seen it or not, or if he’s even curious, but I don’t want him thinking we are.”

Evan considered that for a moment. “You don’t want him to see it?”

“I don’t want him to see it first.”

The screen glowed purple with the image of the Pendulum Nebula. Evan stared at the gaseous giant, wondering how much Alex might want to know of what he’d found while trespassing in Franklin’s ship. “What’s your insertion point?”

The display altered, backing up several magnifications, then a blinking yellow light appeared at the lower edge. “Here. Or very close to it.”

Evan stood and walked to the screen, pointing at the blinking light. “If you enter here, then make your first navigational correction in this direction, the Vision will follow.”

Alex looked at him, puzzled. “How do you know he’ll do that? If he got there first, I’d make a point of going in the opposite direction.”

“Franklin’s a follower. He knows you have a better instinct for this, and he’s counting on riding your path through, and sending probes ahead of you.”

“How do you know that?” Alex’s eyelids lowered. “You stole his data, didn’t you?”

Evan shook his head. “I didn’t steal anything.”

“You looked at his route.”

“I looked at everything I could while I was there. But unless I tell you what I saw, and you act on it, I didn’t steal anything.”

Alex stood and pushed his chair away, then paced three steps behind the desk. “You read his files and saw what route he had. I’d call that stealing.”

“Information isn’t property until it’s acted upon. As long as you don’t know his route, and benefit from knowing, nothing was stolen.”

“You’re arguing semantics!”

“I’m serving your best interests.”

“By stealing?”

Evan inhaled slowly, then let it out. The frustration aspect of being Alex Marcase’s Sha’erah was obviously going to be a daily issue. “You told me not to copy his files, or alter them in any way. I did neither.”

“Perfect.” Alex paced away again, then stopped, facing the wall. After a moment, he turned back around and looked at Evan. “If I meet the requirements of this contract with Carpenter, I’ll get the deed to this ship.”

Evan decided now was not the time to mention he’d seen that contract already. “You know, you’re nothing like your father.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“He would have had me take the data from the Vision, then erase the files and leave the ship floating dead in space. Anything to win.”

“As much as I want to win, I have to know I did it honestly.” Alex looked at him with an expression bordering on desperation. “I need to find turbidium not because I know where the Vision is going, but because I’m better than he is.”

“You are better than he is and he knows it.” Evan walked back to the couch but didn’t sit down. “They all do. Every publication I found, every article written on the subject, they all list you as the ranking expert.”

Alex sighed, then laughed shortly. “Well, I must be doing something right.” He sat down again and looked at his lunch. “Just don’t tell me what you saw in those files.”

Evan sat and returned to his own meal.

“As long as I don’t know, it’s not stealing.”

“We’re already ahead, with the Ascalon now traveling faster than the Vision.”

“Right.” Alex nodded. “We’ll beat him there anyway, then he’ll lose us in the nebula.”

They both returned to their lunches, then back to their research. Alex quickly fell back into his intense study, but Evan couldn’t help feeling his Keeper’s inner struggle with the knowledge of what he’d seen in the Vision’s private files. He had to give the man credit. The best weapon against an opponent was prior knowledge of his actions, and Alex was holding true to his desire not to win that way, even with such high stakes. He had principles Spencer couldn’t have even conceived of.

As he suspected, Evan had to remind Alex when the day shift was ending. He had to wonder, if his Keeper could be this focused on the job ahead when they were this far away, how deeply ensconced was he likely to be when they were only days out?

“I guess I should give this up for today, I’m going cross-eyed.” Alex stood and stretched, then stepped out from behind the desk, leaving the data sheets where they were. “I need a drink.”

Evan followed him out to the bridge, then around the walkway to the corridor. “You say that a lot, but you never do.”

“This time I mean it.”

They returned to their quarters and Evan ordered dinner while Alex showered. The meal was delivered to their own galley in minutes, along with another package that had been sent up from ship’s stores. He put the package on the table beside Alex’s plate and sat down.

“What’s this?” Alex began opening the package before Evan could reply.

“It came in the delivery chute.”

“Oh, great.” He pulled out several cloth patches that on closer inspection revealed the Ascalon’s insignia – a ship surrounded by stars, with the Omega symbol of the Exploration Corps standing boldly above everything. These varied from the ones Alex wore by color only. Where his were ringed in dark green, these were colored deep blue, almost black. “These are for you, I had them made to match your penchant for black.”

Evan accepted the patches. “I told you black was Spencer’s idea.”

“Yeah, but I gave you a choice and you didn’t exactly change.”

“I guess I’m just used to it.” He didn’t want to admit that he enjoyed the image he presented entirely in black, with his black eyes and hair. The reaction of other people gave him the upper hand. If you could intimidate your opponent before you even opened your mouth, you were already one step ahead of the game. “Besides, your orders weren’t clear.”

“They weren’t exactly orders, they were suggestions.”

“Suggestions leave too much to chance.” Evan shook his head. “I don’t know why you’re so reluctant to exercise your rights.”

“My rights being to give you orders? I’m not comfortable with that.” Alex got up and walked to the galley. “I told you, I’m not much for this master/slave business.” He dialed up a drink, then looked questioningly at Evan.

“Then think of it as Keeper/Sha’erah.” Evan shook his head at the offer of alcohol.

“What’s the difference?”

“Semantics.”

Alex laughed shortly and returned to the table. “Look, about that,” he sighed. “I know what my father wanted. Obviously someone who could do his bidding without question with a talent he couldn’t find anywhere else. And I understand – in theory – that through no fault of yours or mine, you and I are stuck with each other.”

“You are always free to sell me.”

Alex held up a hand. “No, I’m not. I don’t work that way. If that’s the only way then forget it, I’m not a slave owner, so I can’t be a slave trader. I’d rather see you leave here of your own free will. Or stay here as a member of the crew.”

“I don’t understand. I’m either with you or I’m with the person you sell me to.”

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why is that? I mean, what would happen if you just wanted to leave?”

Evan huffed. “I can’t just leave. It isn’t done.”

“Why not? Who makes these rules and what happens if you violate them?”

Evan began to wonder if this would make more sense if he’d accepted the offer of a drink. “I’m Sha’erah. To be or do otherwise isn’t possible.”

“Fine.” Alex sighed, then downed his drink in one swallow and returned for another one. “It’s hard to argue logic when there’s no logic to argue.”

Evan shrugged. It made perfect sense to him.

“Okay, try this.” Alex turned and leaned against the galley counter. “What if we tried being friends?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like Jeff and I were. You know, people who work together and hang out together because of a common interest. Not because they have to.”

“Jeff was your friend?”

Alex half shrugged and downed his second drink. “We used to be.”

“What can a friend do for you, that I can’t do as a Sha’erah?”

“It’s not that you can’t, it’s more . . .” Alex poured a third drink then walked out to the semicircular couch and sat on the back of it, facing Evan. “Okay, look. A friend is someone you can trust with everything, you know? Someone you can count on when things get rough.”

“But you can already trust me with anything, and you can count on me to be at your side at all times.” Evan shook his head. “I don’t understand the problem.”

“It’s not a problem, it’s . . .” Alex glanced around the room as if he was looking for the explanation. “Okay, look. Let’s take Jeff for an example. If I told him to do something he didn’t think was right, or he just plain didn’t want to do, he wouldn’t do it, or feel obligated to do it just because I told him to.”

“I wouldn’t do something you ordered me to do if it was in any way going to cause you more harm than good.”

“Yeah, but you’d do that because you think you have to. Jeff would have done it out of friendship. Or refuse to do it because he didn’t want to.”

“But to refuse to do something based solely on personal grounds doesn’t accomplish anything.” Evan stood and leaned against the table so he was more eye-to-eye with Alex. “If you asked a friend to do something, and they refused for no reason, how does that help you?”

“Well it doesn’t, but that’s what people do sometimes.”

“That’s ridiculous. If someone is there to be a friend, they shouldn’t refuse to help.”

“But it’s all about free will. The rights of each individual to have his or her own life.”

Evan considered that for a moment. Alex’s argument was circular and the man just wasn’t seeing it. “I have my own life. I’m a Sha’erah. I was with Spencer, now I’m with you here. That is my life.”

“No, that’s a life you’ve been given. It’s not the same.”

“My life is my own, no one else can be who I am.”

“Yes, but you’re here because you have to be, not because you want to be.”

Evan shook his head slowly. “No. I could have been with Harvey if I’d told you to sell me. I prefer being here.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at Alex. “You say Jeff was a friend, that he was here because you shared interests and you got along together. But the very day you brought me here, he quit without giving you a chance. Now he’s working for your competitor.”

“Yes.” Alex finished his drink and returned to the galley for another. “Yes he is.”

“That’s not something I could ever do. Even if you had sold me to Franklin, honor would have kept me from telling him what I knew about you. If you asked me details about Spencer’s work, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“You sure you don’t want a drink? I think this all makes more sense when you’re less sober.”

“What are you drinking?”

“Tequila.” Alex held up the glass. “I drink wine to be social, scotch when I’m angry, and tequila when I just want to get faced.”

“You do this often?”

“Honestly?” Alex looked at the glass, then set it down. “No.” He returned to the couch, leaving the glass behind. “I haven’t been drunk in years.” He sat heavily and stared out at the stars beyond the ship. “I’ve only just realized I have no friends.”

“That’s not true. You have an entire ship full of them.” Evan walked to the side of the couch and sat on the arm, looking at Alex.

“No, those are crew. Friends in a way, but not what I was talking about.” He shrugged. “A friend is someone you can share things with. Someone you can confide in.”

The circular problem again. “Did Jeff know who your father was?”

“No. Not many people did.”

“Does Miranda Carpenter know?”

“Yes, she knows.”

“So she’s a friend?”

Alex shook his head, still looking through the window. “No, just an acquaintance.”

“So your definition doesn’t make sense. You say Jeff was your friend, only he left you and never knew who your father was. Miranda Carpenter isn’t a friend, but she knows more about your private life than Jeff.”

Alex turned and looked at Evan, his head pressed into the back cushion of the plush couch. “I’m beginning to see your point.”

“I know about your father, and everything else about you. I’ll never sell you out, or allow anything or anyone to harm you, and I always have your best interests in mind.” He paused, waiting for his Keeper to see the benefits of a Sha’erah over a friend.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I didn’t win this one, did I?”

“What exactly did you hope to win?”

Alex shook his head very slowly and looked back out at space.

For a long while, neither man said a word. Beyond the window, space stretched out to infinity, looking coldly back at them. The stars shimmering in the distance were too far away to judge movement by. They simply sat there in the void, fixed and settled as if they and they alone knew the futility of man’s inner struggles. No human was immune to the calming effects of gazing into a star-filled sky, yet they never seemed to understand the peace they found there. What better life than to have a place in the universe and be secure in it? Evan knew his life, knew his place, and was grateful to have that security. He was a Sha’erah. He would always be a Sha’erah. As surprised as he was to find himself pleased to be with Alex instead of Signus Harvey – or even Spencer Marcase – he was happiest knowing his life was set and secure. Details changed, the Keeper and the work might not be constant, but those things worked themselves out. The basics of his life were never changing. What could be more secure than that?

Evan glanced to his left and found Alex deep in thought, still sitting back deep in the couch cushions. Quietly, he stood and walked back to the galley to clean up their dinner. The last glass of tequila was still sitting on the counter, forgotten, so he dumped that as well. At least his new Keeper hadn’t gotten drunk. Spencer had a reputation for excessive drinking and could get violent if things weren’t going his way. Alex hadn’t given him any reason to think he would react the same way, but Evan didn’t really want to find out.

After cleaning the galley, he took the new insignia patches to his room and affixed them to his shirts. He still had Alex’s black jacket with a dark green patch, but he’d said he didn’t want it back, so Evan added it to his wardrobe. With that little chore done, he returned to the living area and found his Keeper still sitting quietly on the couch.

There was nothing else needing his attention and Alex didn’t seem to feel like talking, so he sat at the desk and pulled up more of the Ascalon’s files to study. The storage room inventories were vast, but well cataloged. Even in the room where Evan had thought he’d heard voices, there were no listed contents that should cause concern or suspicion. Of course, he knew full well that what was on the manifest and what was inside each crate could be as different as night and day. But Jeff had prepared the list, personally checked the cargo, and approved each member of the crew handling the equipment. As much as Evan hated the man for leaving Alex, he’d done this prior to their meeting. Nothing in his history or manner suggested he couldn’t be trusted at that time.

After an hour of memorizing the storage room contents, Evan did a security sweep of the entire system. As he suspected, someone from the Vision had tried to access the files – unsuccessfully – several times. Just before they’d altered the fuel mixture and left the Vision far behind.

“Did he try?”

Evan turned to find Alex standing beside the desk, leaning against the hard surface.

“We should be out of range now, shouldn’t we?” Alex asked.

“Yes, we are.” He glanced at the screen, blinking to bring his eyes back into focus. When he scanned data, he never needed to use the monitor. “And yes, someone tried, but they didn’t get in.”

Alex nodded slowly. “There’s no other reason for him to be there. Franklin has a second. He had a full crew when he left.”

He could sense his Keeper wasn’t really making conversation. Alex clearly felt betrayed, but unlike Spencer, he obviously wasn’t used to it and was having some trouble dealing with it.

Evan’s anger with Jeff was building.

“I can’t believe I was so stupid about him.” Alex pushed away from the desk and walked very slowly toward the large window.

“Maybe if you’d sold me to Harvey, things would be normal between you two.” There was really no point in bringing up something that couldn’t be altered, but he couldn’t think of anything to say that would make his Keeper feel better.

Alex turned slightly, still facing the window. “Trade a man I’d just met for someone I obviously didn’t know?” He shook his head and turned back to gaze at the stars. “It’s bad enough admitting that I momentarily considered that back on Cryian. What kind of jerk does that make me?”

Evan looked at the window, seeing Alex’s reflection against the backdrop of space. “The kind who doesn’t hide from his problems until they’ve been worked out.”

In the glass reflection, Alex looked slightly puzzled. He didn’t turn around, but Evan could see his gaze drop as he considered that notion.

“Your father never backed away from a challenge. You’re a lot like him, in some respects.”

At that, Alex turned around.

“Does it bother you?”

“No.” Alex leaned back against the shielded glass, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “It should. The man was a criminal. He left me when I was a kid and never so much as explained why. I should hate him. I think I do sometimes.” With one shake of his head, Alex walked back to the couch and sat down. “I bet he never misjudged his business partners.”

Evan stood and walked back to his spot at the other end of the couch, facing his Keeper. “No, he didn’t. Spencer considered every man a potential danger. It saved time and kept him from being killed.”

“That’s not a bad philosophy. Consider everyone an enemy.”

The depth of tone in Alex’s voice was something Evan hadn’t heard from him in their short time together. He could see the man was depressed, angry about Jeff and the many attempts of his competitors to illegally break into his ship’s files. It was a look and tone he heard all the time back on Cryian, from Spencer and just about everyone else. It was something he took to be a part of the underworld he lived in, something you would only encounter when associating with the types of people he spent his time around. For some reason, when he realized he would be leaving that life for this one, he’d assumed that negative side of life would stay back on Cryian.

With that realization came another, surprising one.

“It doesn’t fit you.”

“What?” Alex turned his head, pressed again into the deep cushions of the couch.

“You’re not him. His life made everyone his enemy, it was expected. But you’re not a criminal. You’re an honest, hard working man concerned with doing a job right, not cutting corners.”

“I don’t know what the hell I am anymore.” Alex blinked heavily, either from the tequila or depression, then sighed. “I blame VanHolt.”

Now it was Evan’s turn to look surprised. “VanHolt?”

Alex nodded, moving his head against the cushions. “My life was perfectly fine right up to the minute he called. That little albino weasel. And it hasn’t been the same since.”

He must be more drunk than Evan thought. “Before VanHolt called you, did you have funding for this expedition?”

“Are you going to get all logical on me here?” Alex sat up slightly. “‘Cause if you are, I feel I should warn you, I’m in no mood to be cheered up.”

“What are you in the mood for?”

Alex laughed shortly. “I want to sulk.” He sat up further and rubbed his eyes. “I’m angry, ever so slightly drunk, and feeling sorry for myself. I just need to sit here and be depressed.”

Evan nodded once and stood, walking back to the desk so he could leave his Keeper to himself.

“What, that’s it?”

He stopped, turning to face the couch. “You wanted to sit there and be depressed.”

“You’re supposed to tell me to get over it and cheer me up.”

Evan stared at Alex. “That’s not what you said.” He’d tried that, hadn’t he? Just then, on the couch. And his Keeper didn’t want him to continue. Just how drunk could he be after only a few shots of tequila? “If you want me to do something, tell me what it is.”

With a huge sigh, Alex fell back in the couch. “I’m an idiot, aren’t I?”

“No, of course not.”

“That was rhetorical, but thank you.”

Evan considered asking for a printed translation to everything Alex was going to mean when he said other things, but he thought now wasn’t the time to request it. He walked back to the couch.

“I just . . . I never realized how sheltered I’d been all this time.” Alex sat facing Evan, looking very sober. “All my life I’ve been so focused on things, I let everything else go by without noticing. That’s how I dealt with what my father had done by leaving the way he did. And the fact that I had to keep it secret from everyone. Who my father was, what he did. I got into this habit of being so focused on projects and plans, I forgot there might be other things going on around me.”

“That’s what makes you so good at what you do.” Evan was grateful that so far Alex had only exhibited Spencer’s better traits. “You can focus completely on the most important task and leave the details to someone else. That’s what I’m for.”

“That’s what Jeff used to do. And Alice. Hell, that’s what my entire crew does for me. Sometimes I think one of these days I could look up from my scans and data sheets and find myself completely alone on this ship, with no clue what happened.”

“I’m not Jeff.”

Alex blinked, startled.

“He left you. I won’t.”

“You mean you can’t.”

“It’s the same thing.”

“No, not really.” Alex looked at him intently. “If you had a choice –” he held up a hand to prevent any interruptions. “I know, you don’t, but if you did. . . You wouldn’t be here, would you?”

Keepers were supposed to understand. Spencer had, since he’d placed the order to have Evan specialized. But not everyone knew or comprehended the way Sha’erah thought or the manner in which they were taught. It was clear Alex didn’t understand, from the moment they met. Explaining the obvious was harder than he thought.

“I did have a choice, back on Cryian. If I had told you I wanted to be with Harvey, you would have sold me, wouldn’t you?”

Alex’s sudden expression was all the answer he needed.

“I could have made a choice to stay and you could have returned here with enough cash to buy this ship and everything that goes with it.” Evan realized as he spoke that logic wasn’t exactly in his favor. “But I didn’t. I chose to leave the decision up to you.”

“So, you can make choices?”

“I think you’ve been over-complicating things.”

“Or you’ve been over-simplifying them?” Alex smiled tiredly. “Either way, I don’t think either of us is going to get anywhere tonight. I’m too tired.” He stood, suppressing a yawn. “But seriously, I want to thank you for what you did with the engines. All these years, no one ever thought about that. As long as they were running within normal specs, everyone was happy.”

“The fault lies with the manufacturer.”

“Well, anyway, thank you.”

“I’ll continue to examine any other ways to improve the performance.”

Alex looked down at him, shaking his head. “Now is when you’d say ‘You’re welcome.’ ”

”As your Sha’erah, it’s my duty to –”

“Just . . . ‘You’re welcome.’ ”

Evan looked up, puzzled, but his Keeper offered no further explanation. “You’re . . . welcome.” That seemed to be all he wanted. Alex smiled immediately, nodded, then said his good nights. Evan huffed, shaking his head. “And he wished I came with an instruction manual.”

Next Chapter

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