April 5: A Depth of Understanding (24 page)

"Thank you, but
I
intend to support
you
. We have a lot more rock between us and them than you do. I believe we can do quite well, thank you."

"I hope so. But if one of us eats a missile, it has been an honor working with you."

"Thanks, you have April and Jeff there. They decided not to come here when everything moved up ahead of schedule and neither would go to another hab. Turns out the Chinese came so early they'd have never made it anyway. Try to take care of them and yourself. And even if we get hit, be aware we're pretty deep and we have a tunnel boring machine to dig out. There will be some parties on the surface that might be calling you too."

"Not everybody is going to shelter?" Jon asked. He obviously didn't like the sound of that.

"They have jobs to do. I don't want to say any more. I'm going silent now before I have hostile ships in my sky."

"OK, done from this end too." Jon said and shut his com link down.

* * *

Mr. Wycliffe and Mr. Remington, refugees from North America via the moon and the French hab affectionately known as The Turnip, ate supper and compared notes on their employment and fortunes.

The fact they could eat together was one improvement. The first month only Fred bought a cafeteria card and then after eating got a lunch pack with as much extra as he could grab off the buffet to take back to Jess, now John, in the tiny one bed apartment they shared. It was so small one slept on the floor and had to sit up if the other wanted out of bed. They took turns.

He was afraid the cafeteria ladies would figure out he was feeding somebody and challenge him. Instead when they noticed they bumped up the portion size. When John bought his own card they didn't comment on his sudden loss of appetite.

"I got promoted to warehouse supervisor," John bragged. "The old supervisor got promoted to management. He was very happy with how I laid out the bins so the few items sold most frequently were kept closest to the packing station. It was laid out in random bins with computer records to find it before. Superficially that is logical, you never have many empty bins, but you never save steps either. That improved productivity enough they didn't have to replace me when they promoted me. So I supervise three guys spread over three shifts and actually help the one on main shift. I not only get a raise I get a little extra for being on call to answer my phone if the other two run into a problem off shift."

"I'm still in the same job description," Fred said, "but they have me loading the fastener racks for construction workers. The rivets come up a hundred to a box in thin cardboard boxes. I have to put them in a plate that holds each one secure and lets a guy in a hard suit get a grip on one with his over-gloves," he demonstrated on the pepper shaker.

"If you don't pay attention and make sure each one is secure you can have one float loose. They pay more for loading them and the last guy had two float off in the same month. So he lost the position. They don't rush you, because it costs a lot more to run down a rivet floating free. They get fined if they don't track it down and recapture it and from what they tell me they can be really rough to find if they get very far or get in a shadow somewhere."

"I've been watching the job ads," John mentioned too casually.

"So have I," Fred said. "I want to move up eventually, but I want to work six months, so I don't get a reputation as a job hopper."

"That makes sense. My foreman has complained about that a few times. He was quite upset with a young guy who quit before he was even done training him. But I'm thinking about formally renouncing my USNA citizenship. Most of the really good jobs have security concerns and they often say right in the ad, no continuing USNA attachment. I wondered how you'd feel about that?"

"That's none of my business. It's a big decision, but up to you. It doesn't concern me."

"If I reveal I'm on Home it doesn't take much thinking to figure you are probably here too. I didn't know if that would be a concern anymore," John explained.

"If they really wanted to find us they have the assets. It doesn't take much to see we bought a shuttle ride here and haven't left. I wouldn't try too hard to hide where you are. It's not worth the effort. Even if we left under a different identity, where would we go? No way are we going to sneak through Earthside customs anywhere with just a name change. I'm still much more worried somebody from the moon will see us here and ruin it for us."

"OK, I wanted to make sure you were good with it."

"I'm not ready myself, but I don't have any problem with it. I may eventually do it for a different reason."

"Oh really? What's that?"

"I want to sign up to pay Home taxes so I can vote in the Assembly. Last Assembly I followed everything and I had a real itch to vote," Fred admitted.

"Did anything  get passed you'd have liked to see overturned?

"Not yet, but there may be sometime. And then is too late to sign up with the vote counting down to a close."

"Huh, that's a bigger deal than my reason. I'll have to think on that."

* * *

"I have to stand a bridge watch tomorrow," Deloris said. She was eating spare ribs with such dainty precision she had just a few smudges of sauce on her finger tips and not a mark around her mouth. Barak was glad he'd passed on them. He'd have sauce everywhere, probably in his hair even and need a shower by the time he was done.

"Do you get to work with our Captain?" Barak asked. "I had him call me in and got to speak with him for maybe five minutes when I boarded. He told me he is there for me, if I have any problem I can't solve myself. I clearly got the message if I can't solve my own problems it will be seen as a defect and he didn't want to hear or see me very often."

"That sounds about right. I might say six words to him when he hands off the conn to me. Perhaps he'll add a comment if a system is trending away from previous performance. The XO isn't any chattier if I'm relieving her. When we are at constant thrust we only need one person on watch and he does any course corrections on his shift. I'd have you up to see, but untrained personnel on the bridge are considered a distraction rather than an asset."

"Yeah, I'm not qualified for any bridge duty. I'm pretty much supercargo (ice rigger)," he said, forming the parentheses in the air. I understand I'm supposed to be available for some support work. Lab tech and an extra hand for maintenance. Nobody seems in any hurry to train me."

"Whatever will you do all day?" she asked, with a smile that made him squirm. She was little. So petite in fact he imagined she had to have her p-suit custom made. Her hair was a deep chestnut, what little a spacer could afford to keep and her eyes were a deep hazel too. She had very thick eyebrows, not trimming them like some girls do. Overall very pretty, in a girlish sort of way and probably going to be quite beautiful when she matured. He suddenly realized he was studying her instead of answering and blushed. She didn't seem to mind.

"I am studying  quite a bit and I intend to do a lot of photography both in the Yuki-onna and outside. My mom is an artist and might do some work from the images. I thought I might do some writing also."

"Oh, are you keeping a journal of the voyage?"

"That's an interesting idea, but I tend more to poetry."

"Really?" she looked at him like she hadn't seen him before. There wasn't any sarcasm in it though. "I've read some poetry for my studies, but it seemed all Earth oriented and I've never been down to Earth, so it was hard to relate to it. Have you been down?"

"Yes, very recently in fact. I went down for a vacation with a bunch of friends. It was a difficult adjustment the first few days. It helped we didn't take a conventional shuttle and have to deal with customs and a crush of people at first. We did an ocean landing and met a very nice sail boat for a private cruise. Just getting my head wrapped around how
big
it is, standing there on a big ball but the curvature is so slight it
feels
like you are in the  middle of a vast flat plane."

She nodded acknowledgement, but kept eating.

"I have pix of the trip on my pad. We certainly have the time, I'll show you if you like. I even had one shot printed and covered the biggest bulkhead in my cabin with it. I'm fond enough of it to think I won't grow tired of it in a year or two."

"I'd have just displayed it on my screen."

"It's bigger. I suppose I get my taste for hard copy from my mom. She works in sculptured glass panels. They are not only a static display, they weigh several hundred kilo too."

"Alright, I'm done," she said wiping her hands on a sani-wipe, "why don't you show me this print? I'm interested."

Barak got the uneasy feeling she was interested, but not primarily in the print. She was older than him, twenty three or twenty four, but another one with Life Extension Therapy so she looked sixteen. He felt out of his depth socially with her and a bit intimidated.

The cabin was tiny. He had a table that doubled as a com console with a seat and a fold up chair hanging on the wall for guests, but she sat on the edge of the bunk, which admittedly was less than a meter further away than the chair and a very good viewing distance.

Barak unfolded the cloth chair and sat in it, commanding the lights for the best illumination of the print. Jeff, April, Heather, Gunny and he sat or reclined in the foredeck of the
Tobiuo.
It
was beautiful mahogany deck, though he knew there was composite beneath it. He was laying on his side, propped up in one elbow. Jeff was sitting leaning forward slightly, knees in the air, heels together, with a dreamy look, a drink by his feet. April was sitting Yoga style feet tucked over her knees and laughing. He was beside her looking up at her smiling. Heather was stretched out on April's other side, ankles crossed, limp as a cat, using one of April's knees for a pillow. Gunny had one leg straight and his other leg up, with his arms wrapped around his knee. He had a beer bottle in one big hand and nobody he'd ever known had that flat and muscular a stomach sitting down, not even guys half his age. He looked like an illustration in a medical book for muscle groups. Everybody looked happy and content and every face was turned pretty much toward the camera. It was his favorite picture.

"These are all your friends?" Deloris asked.

"Yes. This is Jeff Singh. He's very smart in certain ways. Very inventive and detail oriented. He leased some of the tech for our ship to the partners. This is April, she isn't as smart as Jeff on tech, but she can be insightful in unexpected ways. She will often suggest things Jeff or Heather wouldn't have thought of, but they have the ability to actually make them work. Heather is my sister. She partnered with Jeff for several years before April became associated with them. She is very much the practical techie and can fabricate things, but especially electronics."

"How close is 'associated'?" Deloris wondered.

"They are partners in a number of business ventures." He considered how much he owed Deloris. She was his shipmate. "They shared the same cabin on ship," he added.

"Is that an exclusive arrangement?" Deloris asked, plainly.

"No," he said simply. That possibility had not occurred to him before. It must have shown in his pause, because Deloris paused too, considering her words carefully.

"Why are you all naked?" she asked.

"We were in the tropics. It is oppressively hot. Thirty seven to thirty eight degrees at times and very high humidity. Lin follows what he called French boat rules. As long as we are away from land or other boats clothing is optional. The crew does the same, working the rigging and standing watch at the wheel. When we are anchored you can dive in and swim, or go below and shower in fresh water if it gets to you."

"I don't know much of anything about boats," Deloris revealed, "and what does the humidity have to do with it?"

"Ah, when it is hot if the humidity is high it makes it very hard to cool off because your sweat doesn't evaporate. It helps there was frequently a breeze blowing though."

"I'm used to a controlled environment. OK, the big guy there is sort of shiny. I thought maybe he was oiled down, but he's probably sweaty. Who is he connected to?"

"He's April's body guard, but I count him a friend too. He really likes being on the boat, so he came down even though we only spent one day where there were any people to speak of. So he really didn't have much guarding to do."

"He looks,
capable
," she admitted. "Does he wear sleeveless shirts and stuff to show off those muscles when he's clothed?"

"Oh he's capable. April described him as just like Jon, head of Security on Home. Sudden death in both hands," he said, making two fists. "I've never seen him wear anything revealing. In fact he's remarkably conservative and modest in attitude."

"Are you 'associated' with April too?" she asked, not too subtly.

"Yes. I've been terribly fond of April since I was about eight years old."

"It's a long voyage away from April. Are you open to other 'associations', even if they may of necessity be temporary?"

"I, uh, think so," Barak said, flustered, "but I have to tell you, I'm a bit intimidated by you. You aren't
that
much older than me, but I can tell you have a lot more self confidence and, how can I say? You're more skilled socially. I feel like you direct the conversation where you want it to go and I don't know how to do that. I'm old enough to
see
that you do it, but not experienced enough to do it myself. I know you must have had LET, because you look as young as me, but you wouldn't have a ticket to sit the conn on this ship if you didn't have a few more years. You're what? Twenty three? Twenty four? I'm just what I look like. I haven't started LET and I won't now until I get back. So don't expect me to be your equal in a lot of ways. I want us to be friends, but I don't want you to
manage
me. If you do I'll resent it when I figure out what happened. Do you see my problem?"

"Yes. So, do you want me to be brutally honest?"