“What is this, Marchenko?” Tomich asked, picking up a cup. “Tea? It’s a good thing I brought the sake.”
“It is,” she agreed. “I haven’t had an opportunity to shop for alcoholic provisions yet.” She decided not to mention that the modest fares that her three passengers paid her did not go a long way toward outfitting a ship with luxuries. Or basics. That was probably apparent from the dented plates.
The admiral sat at one end of the table and sniffed at the substance in his cup. Tomich smiled easily, though he also seemed to scrutinize everything around him, and he nodded for several of the soldiers to stand in the corridor that led toward crew cabins and navigation. Alisa watched, trying not to feel fenced in. Several of the soldiers leaned against the walls, appearing more bored than alert. She decided to take that as a sign that they were probably not planning anything inimical.
Yumi finished pouring cups and sat at the far end of the table from the admiral. Mica arrived, elbowing soldiers aside to get inside. From the way her gaze devoured the plates on the table, hunger had likely prompted this appearance rather than a desire to be sociable. Alejandro wasn’t around and did not join them. Alisa thought about calling for him—maybe he would appreciate talking shop with another doctor—but she could understand why a loyal former imperial citizen might not want to fraternize with Alliance officers. Especially when one of those officers had switched sides.
“Let me do a few introductions,” Alisa said, waiting for everyone to be seated before she picked a spot next to Mica. Leonidas stood near a counter, his helmet back on, a rifle resting in his arms. He might wish to chat with Tiang, but apparently, he wouldn’t let his guard down to do it while they ate. “This is Yumi Moon, my science-loving passenger,” she said, waving at Yumi. “This is my engineer, Mica Coppervein. That’s another passenger, Abelardus Shepherd.” He had chosen a spot in the middle of the table, his fingers intertwined in front of him. “Our cook for the night is my security officer, Tommy Beck. And you’ve met Leo—Colonel Adler.”
Normally, she wouldn’t break his cover, but Tiang had already addressed him by his real name.
Alisa settled into the empty spot between Mica and Abelardus and across from Tomich. Aside from the dubious blue liquid, Beck had done a wonderful job preparing a meal, especially given the short notice. She only hoped that the admiral would appreciate the food and that his and Tomich’s questions would not be too invasive. She was secretly glad that Alejandro wasn’t around, because she would like to explain everything to the Alliance officers, in the hope that it might filter upward, and any black marks on her record could be removed. All she wanted was to find Jelena, not become an outlaw.
“I’m Commander Brad Tomich,” Tomich said, nodding to the various people Alisa had introduced, except for Leonidas, “and this is Admiral Tiang, and that’s Captain Onobanjo, one of our science officers.”
The captain’s holodisplay still scrolled before her eyes, but she gave them all a cordial nod.
“Are you going to tell us about that energy surge?” Yumi asked brightly, sitting across from the science officer.
Abelardus started shoveling beans and slaw onto his plate. Leonidas settled in behind Alisa with his back to the counter, where he could see both doorways and keep an eye on the soldiers. In addition to those that had positioned themselves around the room, in similar guard stances to his, several more were visible out on the walkway, along with the handful in the corridor that led to NavCom. The rest had stayed down in the cargo hold—at least Alisa hoped they were down there and not wandering around engineering.
Mica left a no-trespassing sign on the door to engineering
, Abelardus informed her.
And they’re obeying it?
For now.
“I believe the answer to that question is classified,” Onobanjo told Yumi, folding her hands on the table and eyeing the coils of sausage on a platter.
“Another hour, and it won’t matter,” Tomich said.
“
If
this ship is still here then,” Tiang said, his eyes narrowing.
“Yes, my superiors aren’t quite sure why we didn’t drive you away, Alisa,” Tomich said, “but I’ve been wondering how you got mixed up in all of this. I wouldn’t have guessed you to have an interest in Starseer artifacts.” He glanced at Abelardus.
“It’s a long story.” A story that Alisa was prepared to launch into, but apparently, her words led Beck to believe that she wouldn’t do so, because he stepped up to the end of the table and spoke.
“Friends, old and new,” he said, “I thank you for joining us for dinner. I’ve already informed you as to what you’ll be eating, and I particularly recommend the spicy arangwa pepper slaw, but I also invite you to try all of the sauces you see before you.” He smiled at the admiral. “I left the meats only lightly seasoned so you can appreciate the various flavor profiles.”
Flavor profiles?
Alisa plastered her hand to her face.
What kind of chef-speak was that? And why was he doing it
now
?
“This one is a simple barbecue sauce sweetened with apple cider,” Beck went on, pointing to the first jar. “It’s a perennial favorite. For more of a kick, the next one is my infamous beer and molasses sauce. Highly recommended.”
Tomich and the admiral exchanged perplexed looks. Alisa tried to catch Beck’s eye and make a cutting motion, but he only had eyes for his sauces—and for the admiral. For some reason, he was giving Tiang a lot of attention.
“My third offering is an extra spicy sauce, also flavored with the aromatic and excellent arangwa pepper. Lastly, we have one of my favorites, blueberry balsamic sauce. You’ll find it extremely tasty on the ribs, and some people like it on the cornbread, though the cornbread is delicious all by itself.”
“Thank you, Beck,” Alisa said, hoping to stop him from going into further details. She could understand his pride in his cooking, but they had headier matters to discuss.
“You’re welcome. All of the sauces are available for purchase,” he went on, “and I also have samples available. Ah, Admiral?”
“Yes?” Tiang asked cautiously.
“I’m sure you’re a man of influence and power back home.”
“He’s a man of influence right at this table,” Tomich said, while giving Alisa a what-is-your-chef-doing look.
She shrugged back at him. Explaining Beck’s passions and dreams for the future, not to mention his fear of having the mafia catch up with him before he could achieve them, was too much to bring up now.
“Of course,” Beck said. “But back home, I imagine he goes to fancy dinners with government officials and other important military officers, people who might enjoy samples of excellent sauces from the far reaches of space.”
“Think those flavor profiles are getting a boost from the radiation leaking out of space nearby?” Tomich asked, smirking.
Yumi’s eyebrows rose. “We’re not able to read radiation on these sensors, not very effectively. Is the source of it the same as the source of the energy I’ve been reading?”
Alisa gave her a silent thank-you for getting the conversation back on topic. Beck looked like he might try to finagle another chance to sell his condiments to the admiral. Alisa caught his eye and made a sit-down motion. Deflated, he removed his apron and slid in at the end of the table. The seats near the admiral had been taken, fortunately. Tiang might go to official military functions, but he did not look like the kind of man who went to a lot of social gatherings—or bought souvenir barbecue sauces.
“If you
could
read the radiation levels, you wouldn’t have dared come this close,” Captain Onobanjo said, her voice still distracted. She leaned close to the admiral and whispered something.
Alisa looked at Abelardus, hating to depend on him but wondering if he had any insight to what they had said. Normally, she would look to Leonidas for deciphering whispers, but that would be more obvious—and he couldn’t speak the answer into her mind.
No, I’m handy.
Abelardus smiled at her.
Her thoughts are clearer. She’s been studying the phenomenon, along with the admiral and several Alliance experts in—oh, that’s interesting.
He tilted his head, gazing at Onobanjo.
I wondered if it might be something like that, but I don’t have the science background to know what’s possible and what isn’t.
What?
He kept gazing at Onobanjo, apparently reading her mind like a scintillating book.
Alisa elbowed him.
“Colonel,” Admiral Tiang said, spooning beans and sausage onto his plate. “Won’t you join us for this meal?”
“I’m on duty, sir,” Leonidas said.
“Duty? The empire is no more, as I’m certain you’ve noticed.” Tiang let out a wistful sigh. “As I regret. I had little choice but to switch my allegiances if I was to continue my research.”
Alisa watched him, trying to use her simple intuition, as Abelardus had called it. He had struck her as a reserved man, someone difficult to read, so that sigh seemed strangely emotive. Of course, she had only spent ten minutes in his company. It was early to make assumptions about him.
“I work here now,” Leonidas said.
“On this dingy, dented freighter?” Tiang looked at the dented cabinets and wrinkled his nose in Alisa’s direction.
Surprisingly, Mica glared frostily at him. She was usually the first one to mock the
Nomad
, but maybe it was different when the insults came from an outsider.
“Are you trying to imply that Tomich’s warship is a better home?” Alisa asked. “Because I’ve seen him land ships before. If that one is any less dented than this one, it’s only because he has a fast-acting team of mechanics with welding torches and hammers.”
“Now, now, Alisa,” Tomich murmured. “You know commanders don’t have to land their own ships.”
“Is that why they promoted you? To save hangar bays all across Alliance space?” She shut her mouth before she could say more. She felt defensive about her ship, but she did not truly wish to insult Tomich. The snobby admiral, on the other hand…
“That might have played into Command’s decision,” Tomich said.
“Seriously, Colonel,” Tiang said, ignoring the jibes and focusing on Leonidas. “Please, join us. Did you not wish to speak with me? Before I was called out to this situation, I was working on something you might find interesting. Did you know the Alliance is investing funding into creating a cyborg program? Perhaps you could offer some feedback, based on your own experiences.”
Alisa expected Leonidas to scoff and say that he had no interest in helping the Alliance with anything, but after a moment of hesitation, and a last look around the room at the soldiers, he lifted his hands to his helmet. A soft snap sounded as he undid the fasteners. He set the helmet on the counter next to him.
None of the soldiers reacted strongly, but a couple of the men who had been leaning nonchalantly stood straighter now.
“You worked with Dr. Bartosz for a time, didn’t you, sir?” Leonidas asked.
It was strange hearing him call someone sir. Even though he must have done it to superior officers in the fleet, the
Nomad
had yet to run into any of those on its adventures.
“I did,” Tiang said. “When I was a younger doctor, before I got so heavily into research, I even assisted with a few of the surgeries.”
Leonidas stepped forward, his eyes intent. Did he think the admiral had some of the answers that he had hoped to find on that station?
Tiang’s eyes were also intent, almost calculating. He wasn’t up to something, was he?
“Sit,” Tiang offered, waving for his science officer to scoot aside. “Have some food with me. Tell me if you’ve experienced any troubles over the years, things we should avoid if possible if we do another generation of military cyborgs.”
Leonidas took another step, and Alisa found herself noticing his helmet, the way it was now several paces away from him. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe the admiral was truly curious about him, but her senses, her simple intuition twanged.
“Leonidas,” she said. “Perhaps you and the admiral could discuss this later. I believe Tomich wanted to tell us about what his people are doing out here.”
“That’s not exactly why we came over,” Tomich said dryly.
“Colonel,” the admiral said, rising to his feet. “Let’s talk privately for a few moments, shall we?” Tiang gestured toward the corner of the mess hall.
Leonidas hesitated, and Alisa wondered if he shared some of her suspicions about the officer’s intentions. But for some reason, a gleam of hope brightened his eyes, and he followed Tiang around the table and to the corner. They started talking softly, the admiral gesturing expansively.
“Alisa,” Tomich whispered. “Are you working
with
them or
for
them?” He nodded toward Leonidas. “I can’t help but notice that nobody has you tied up.”
“Not yet,” Mica muttered. “I think she’s hoping for that eventually.”
Alisa elbowed her. “I’m just a captain carrying passengers,” she told Tomich. “I’m not quite sure how it happened, but I got involved in a quest I have no interest in. All of this is getting in the way of my own… mission.”
“So, you’d consider it a favor if we got rid of some of your passengers for you?”
“No. They paid their fare.”
Tomich squinted in puzzlement. Alisa groped for a way to explain that she did not want Alejandro or Abelardus here, but she wasn’t willing to betray them, not when Leonidas was tangled up in the equation.
“Even the cyborg?” Tomich asked, nodding toward Leonidas.
“Especially him.”
“In taking them on, you’ve been working against our people.” Tomich leaned forward, his hands doing something under the table. Fiddling with a napkin? “What happened at Arkadius? The reports say that you fought with the Starseers against the Alliance.”
Alisa took a deep breath. This was her chance to come clean, to explain everything. “I—”
A faint clink came from under the table. Alisa started to lean back to look under it, but Leonidas barked, “Gas!”