Deep (3 page)

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31

Filed Under "Arrival"

She dreamed. Unfortunately she remembered very little of it, if any. But Lawn would swear she did dream.

Technology was a wonderful thing, but many times she wished someone would invent a way to record a person's dreams. That way she could go back and watch all the warm and wonderful things she had imagined. Things that would never happen to her in real life becausewell, because real life was cruel. Dream life, however, was anything she wanted it to be.

And that included who she wanted it to be with.

"Lawn. Wake up, Lawn."

Like that voice. Oh, yeah. There was no way in the world anyone could convince her that she hadn't dreamed about Deep. That voice. That holographic face which reminded her of someone.

"Lawn, time to wake up."

"I'm up. I'm up." Her voice sounded like someone had pounded nails into her throat, leaving it scratchy and raw. But what should she expect when she'd been comatose for nearly six months?

A hand came up from nowhere and slapped her in the face.

Her hand. Shit, what happened to all her coordination? For that matter, her body felt like it was made of liquifying rubber. Rubber bones, rubber muscles, rubber everything.

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The overhead bubble clicked and detached itself from the lower half of the bed. Almost silently, it lifted up and away, still connected by the hinge at the head. The lights slowly rose to give her eyes time to adjust.

"Hey, Deep?"

"Yes?"

"How long was I out?"

"One hundred eighty-three days, two hours, six minutes."

Damn.
If she didn't know better, he sounded like he was amused. Was the Vogt programmed to be amused?

"What's our ETA?"

"Two hours and fourteen minutes."

"Are we within hailing distance?"

"Of course. Would you like for me to call Officer Siler?"

"Hold off." She coughed as she managed to remain upright in a sitting position. According to her training, it would take a few minutes for her body to work all the sedatives out of her system. The trainers suggested a cold shower as being the most effective, followed by twenty-four ounces of water to make her pee the rest out.

"Why not get into the shower?" Deep said.

Damn it.
She was just about convinced that the ship had done more than scan and record her genetic makeup in its memory. There had to be some kind of mental connection made as well.

Gradually, she could feel her strength coming back. Rising on wobbly legs, she was able to make it to the bathroom and into the shower that was barely large enough to turn around in.

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There was always plenty of hot water in the ship. All heat was siphoned off the engines, and water was a natural byproduct of the atmospheric generators. As long as she didn't let any escape out into the void, there would be plenty of water to sustain just her for the next eighteen months. But in the event she took on another passenger, things could get tough.

Hell, it was a moot point. The Vogt would never allow another being onboard, even if she ordered it to. It was for her protection, in case the ship was ever hijacked, or she was taken hostage.

Lawn let the stinging hot needles of high-pressure water beat over her head for nearly a minute before reaching for a leaf of soap. Yep, nothing like a brisk shower to wake a person up after a six-month nap.

The water slowly started to chill, growing colder by the second. Lawn paused in mid-sudsing. "Deep, what's going on with the shower temp?"

"The water needs to be fifty degrees Fahrenheit to be effective in eliminating the residue coating your skin."

An involuntary shudder went through her. "Deep, I'm freezing here! Turn the hot water back on!"

"You cannot freeze, Lawn," the ship chided her. "For one thing, your body temperature is hovering around ninety-nine degrees. For another, I cannot allow anything harmful to happen to you—"

"Fuck you, Deep! Give me some hot water!"

There was a pause. Gradually, she felt the water grow warmer. Not back to the original setting she'd had it, but at 34

least it wasn't no damn fifty degrees. She hurried to finish, in case the ship changed its mind. Lawn slapped the palm-sized plate above the spray nozzles, and the jets went from squirting water to blowing warm air. She was dried off in under a minute, her hair included.

When she stepped out of the stall, her eyes immediately went to the mirror above the dinky sink. To her surprise, Deep's image was staring back at her. If she didn't know any better, he looked hurt. She opened her mouth to make a comment about his expression when she noticed his eyes gliding down her body in a slow perusal. The effect on her body took her aback. A nice hot bubble of lust burst between her legs, leaving her tingly and unfulfilled. Its hard edginess twisted in her womb, and sexual desire sizzled brightly, mixing with her blood in her veins. For a moment Lawn wondered if she might be able to slide back into bed and masturbate herself into a reasonable state of satisfaction.

There was no way she could avoid the fact that Deep's holographic image was the sexiest thing she had seen in a very long time.

Lawn ran a brush through her hair before pulling it tightly behind her head into a braid. She'd had to undergo God knows how many psych evaluations before and after being accepted into the Vogt program. But the one thing she'd protected in the farthest corners of her mind was the face of her dream. The face of the man she had created one night not too many months ago, and found herself falling irrevocably and inexplicably in love with. An imaginary man of 35

her own making, and one she'd lost all common sense for, as well as her heart.

Lawn couldn't explain why she'd protected that dream from the scientists and specialists. But despite her efforts, her cautionary tactics proved futile. Seeing Deep's reflection for the first time had been shocking. Having her dream come to holographic life had proven that the doctors had still been able to dig out every last mnemonic morsel from her brain.

Every last wish, every erotic dream—there was absolutely nothing she could hide from them. She accepted that now.

But she wasn't on Earth any longer. Neither was she being subjected to the mental probings she was required to undergo as part of her training regime. Which meant the Bureau could no longer delve into her mind. They could no longer know what she was feeling or thinking. She was free for the first time in years to be herself. To think and react without worrying about reprisals.

It was one of the rewards of being chosen for the Vogt program. One of the many perks she was allowed as compensation for the two years of her life she was giving up to the program. Two years that were almost like being in solitary confinement, but with a lot more danger.

Which left more questions hanging open and unanswered.

Given that she was now allowed to be mentally free, would she also be able to be physically free onboard? Not so much physically, such as having free rein to go where she pleased when she pleased, but to also be sexually free? After all, it was just her and nobody else. If she felt like she needed a 36

quickie, what was to stop her from delving into her personal belongings for the vibrator?

Hell, Deep may be a sentient ship, but he wasn't human.

Surely some scientist somewhere must have programmed sex into its brain so he could understand, should he question her actions.

Lawn was suddenly seized with a wild, unreasonable desire to throw her arms open wide and ask him if he liked what he saw. But what would be the point?

Hey, Deep! How many real breasts have you seen personal
and up close?

Could a sentient ship feel horny?

Was it possible to antagonize a Vogt?

raised his eyes back to hers, and this time there was no denying the look of sadness or disappointment on his holo features.

This was something she was going to have to get used to, and quickly.
He's just a ship. He's just a ship.
Yes, he was one of the first advanced prototypes, and she was more than lucky to have been tapped to be one of the first four human crew members to take the Vogts on their initial runs.

First there was Bleddis, then Siler, then her, and last was Velderman. If all went well, the Vogts would be commissioned exclusively for deep space missions, replacing the old solo-manned Strathern ships that had been in use since the turn of the century.

"My sensors detect no remaining residue," Deep informed her.

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"See? You didn't need to try and turn me into a human icicle," she snapped back.

A hurt look flashed across the holo's face, so quickly Lawn wondered if her eyes had played a trick on her.

All right. That had been uberbitchy of her. Maybe she should apologize later on and blame her rudeness on the aftereffects of hypersleep.

Lawn paused as she reached for her uniform. Apologize to a ship?

Get a grip on yourself, girl. The last thing you need is to
start thinking of this ship as being human. Yeah, he's
artificially intelligent, but that doesn't make him a living
being!

Unfortunately, she couldn't ditch the persistent feeling that she owed Deep an apology.

Communique 4G

To: G.E. Coordinator Millner

Arrived at outpost R6Y6 as scheduled.

Coordinating hand-off at eleven hundred hours, GEB time.

Addendum: Noted some negative emotional effects, probably the result of hypersleep. Will investigate and report findings at a later date.

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38

Filed Under "Hand-Off"

was waiting for her permission to contact the other ship when she arrived on deck. At her nod, it made the call.

"Vogt Twenty Twenty-three ACE hailing Vogt Nineteen Ninety-eight ROF. This is Vogt Twenty Twenty-three at Outpost R6Y6, calling Vogt Nineteen Ninety-eight."

"Vogt Nineteen Ninety-eight receiving your frequency."

Lawn raised an eyebrow. No one had told her all the Vogt ships had male intelligences. Or maybe it was just these two.

She made a mental note to ask Deep when another male voice, a different one, broke in.

"Hey, Bascomb! Hey, baby, it's great to see you!"

Ron Siler appeared on the viewscreen. To his credit, his year out here hadn't changed him one bit. Lawn smiled.

"Hey, Siler! Ready to hand over the job to someone more competent?"

Siler gave her a big grin and a wink. "The sooner the better."

"How was it?"

"Damn boring, if you ask me. Biggens cheats at chess."

"I do not. You are not attentive," the first male voice protested, and Lawn realized Biggens was the Vogt's identity.

She laughed.

"What's the first thing you're going to do when you get back?" she asked.

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Siler rolled his eyes. "Get laid!"

"I can imagine the ladies are trembling in anticipation."

"Hell, yeah! That's why I sent an order in this morning for a dozen tubes of lube. My first week back I'm treating myself to celebrate my homecoming!"

They both laughed at the joke. Lawn knew as well as Siler did that his life would not be any different after he landed than it had been before he left two years prior. However, after getting to know Ron when they'd shared several classes together, she wouldn't put it past the man to be able to overcome his deficiency and score someone who would take him on simply because he was a Vogt pilot. Or, if he was very lucky, he might find a woman with a big enough heart who could learn to love him for the person he was inside, instead of judging him by his appearance.

Her hand went up to touch her cheek. It was an involuntary gesture, and one she'd done all her life. Yeah, if anyone had a real shot at a happily ever after, it would be a guy like Siler.

"Hey, Ron. Anything you need to let me know before we pass the torch?"

The man shook his head. "Not really. Biggens is feeding all our info along to you. Who's your partner?"

"My name is Deep," the ship answered for her. "Biggens and I are already acquainted."

"Good to meet you, Deep. You take care of Lawn, you hear me? Or I'll come over to the hangar after you get back and give you a swift kick in your particle distributors. Got me?"

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This time, to Lawn's surprise, there were three men chuckling at the threat. Given the Vogts were intelligent, still it was nice to discover a sense of humor had been added to their programming.

"All right. I'm out of here." Siler grew serious. "Be careful, Lawn. We had a couple of close calls, but nothing major. Just some rogue asteroids and shit like that. I hope your stint is swift and uneventful. This is one place where boring is the best thing that could ever happen to you."

Lawn nodded. "I copy and agree. It's good to see you again, Ron. Have a great trip home. Maybe I'll tweet you in eighteen months, and we can get together to compare notes over a beer or two. How's that sound?"

Siler gave her a thumbs up. "It's a date, Lawnie. Oh, before I forget, the relay switches on the coupler might give you fits. Heads up on that."

"Thanks, Ron. All right. I'm in, you're out, and all's right with the universe. See you on the flip side!"

Siler gave her another wink, and the viewscreen went blank, leaving her to watch the Vogt1998 ROF detach itself from the outpost buoy. The ship looked identical to the one she was in except for the designation markings on its hull, which were reddish in color.

As it slowly rolled away, Deep's image faded into view, hovering slightly past her left shoulder. Immediately Lawn felt uncomfortable. Her left side was her hidden side, her negative side. Somehow Deep must have either read her body language, or his memory cells recalled that little detail. A second later he reappeared, this time over her right shoulder, 41

without commenting as to why he'd switched. She wondered if she should thank him, then gave up. It would have been the same as if she'd apologized. Deep would have accepted it and gone on without any thought as to why she'd done so.

They watched the ship grow smaller as it moved away from them until it suddenly gave a little twinkle. Just like that, it was gone, with nothing to show it had gone into hyperdrive.

Lawn sighed aloud. "Ready for me to dock?" she asked.

"Ready when you are."

"Let's do it."

The whole process took them less than five minutes. Once Deep announced that the couplings were secure, she gave a nod and rose from her seat.

"When was the last time the buoy was checked out?"

"Oh eight hundred hours. It's due."

"Okay. I'm going outside to do my first set of inspections."

"Be careful, Lawn," the ship replied.

Lawn frowned slightly. There it was again. That tone of real worry woven through the words. Like everything else, she dismissed it as coming from the ship's enhancements and made her way down to mid-deck to suit up.

Communique 4H

To: G.E. Coordinator Millner

Hand-off successful. Buoy coupling complete. Beginning inspections.

Addendum: Emotional compatibility questioned. Are you sure our temperaments are suited? Please send all psych evals for perusal.