No Ordinary Voyage, Chapter 7: The Captain Tells a Tale
I slowly sat down at the table, watching Captain Peter. He had his back to me; he was taking a bottle and two glasses out of a cabinet. After setting them on the table, he went around and locked the doors leading in and out of the mess. Finally, he sat down across me, picked up the bottle, and poured Purp juice into the glasses. He slid one to me and gulped down the other.
I was staring at him, and when he met my eyes, he laughed. "Usually, in a situation like this, I'd bring out some Montressor rum. But I don't allow people under eighteen to drink, not even Felix. Purp juice tastes just as good anyway, sometimes better."
I raised an eyebrow. "What about before you were Captain?"
He laughed again. "My father never let us touch the stuff, no matter how the crew teased us. Said it would turn us mad. But you can't say that we never snuck a drink or two. One day, I learned what my father had been telling me all along."
I smiled, remembering my own antics in and outside the Benbow, not all of them with my mother's knowledge or consent. As the Captain and I sat in silence, I swirled the Purp juice around in my glass till he tapped the table twice with his fingers. I looked at him then.
"Two years ago, when my father was still alive, I did something he'd been dreaming of since I was born." When he said that, I realized that he was starting, and I listened more closely. "I applied to Interstellar. I knew that getting in and making good would do him proud."
A shadow passed over his eyes, and he stared at the rim of his empty glass. "I desperately wanted to get in. I was rejected the first time, but I appealed. Still a negative." I was confused. How could the Academy reject someone as promising and intelligent as Captain Peter? Not only was he a good spacer, he was a great leader - something they wanted all their students to be. Before I could ask about it, he went on.
"I got over the rejection, especially when my father died. I couldn't go to the Academy then, not with the Interloper to run."
"What does this have to do with Felix?" I asked. He poured some more juice into his glass and offered to fill mine also. I accepted it politely and sipped as I listened.
He sighed. "Felix was Father's little girl. He was so fond of her, especially after Mother died. From him, I learned to be protective of my little sister. When I was older, my father and I would stay up late, talking about the future we wanted for her. While I was his son, he was already beginning to treat me like a man."
"We raised her together, and every time I look at her, I look for something that shows where we went wrong. But every time I begin to doubt our 'work', she does something unexpected and wonderful, and I feel relieved."
I began to understand the Captain now. He wasn't forced into his life - somehow, because of his love for his family, he had chosen to grow up a little more quickly than others had. To me, this further explained the crew's respect for its Captain.
"Anyhow, Father and I were heroes to Felix. She loved us better than any living soul we knew. Sometimes, I would be surprised to find that it was she pulling me out of trouble. She was beginning to grow up, too. My father felt happy to know that we looked out for each other." He swallowed and set the glass down.
"Like I said, we were her heroes, and when Father died, I was left. She wanted to be just like me. So, she took her turn and applied to the Academy. Just this year."
I knew where this was going. Before the year had ended, I'd seen the ISA cargo vehicles move back and forth between the Postal Service Center. Some of the messages were green lights; others were red. The moment the Captain finished his sentence, I knew what had happened.
I asked, "Is that why she was sad, when I talked about the Academy?" He looked at me and nodded. Suddenly, he looked much older than eighteen.
"I don't understand," I continued. "How - how could the Academy reject two spacers as fine as you? I know guys who are in there and are only half as great as you can be. I don't understand..."
Captain Peter sighed and pushed his glass away. We sat in a long, awful silence before he spoke again.
"We lacked money, but we were qualified applicants for the scholarship. We are intelligent, have excellent coordination, and have just-as-excellent social skills. We weren't rejected for lack of those things." I watched his eyes in puzzlement.
"You don't know how discriminating the ISA Admissions Board can be. You don't know how lucky you are. At least they interviewed you, and admitted you. They didn't even give us a chance. One look at our papers was all it took to get the red stamp."
I couldn't believe it. Was it true? My mother said that the Academy was turning me into a fine young man and not just a fine young spacer. Could the same Academy be so cruel to spacers who could be finer than I was?
"Why?" I asked at last.
Captain Peter looked at me fiercely. I had seen him angry a few times, but not from this close. He was fearsome, and I worried that he was angry at me. Only later, I realized that he was angry at the ISA. "Felix applied this year, hoping that they'd give her a chance now that some time had passed since Father died. But they were still harsh on us. They wouldn't let her in... because of who our father was."
I blinked. This was unbelievable. It had to be a mistake. "What? But - who was your father? I don't understand."
Before the Captain could speak, there was a series of thuds above and around us. We were jerked this way and that because of the vibrations. "What the - !" An alarm sounded, and we both heard Felix's voice calling.
"Peter! Peter, where are you? We need you up here! We're under attack!"
I slowly sat down at the table, watching Captain Peter. He had his back to me; he was taking a bottle and two glasses out of a cabinet. After setting them on the table, he went around and locked the doors leading in and out of the mess. Finally, he sat down across me, picked up the bottle, and poured Purp juice into the glasses. He slid one to me and gulped down the other.
I was staring at him, and when he met my eyes, he laughed. "Usually, in a situation like this, I'd bring out some Montressor rum. But I don't allow people under eighteen to drink, not even Felix. Purp juice tastes just as good anyway, sometimes better."
I raised an eyebrow. "What about before you were Captain?"
He laughed again. "My father never let us touch the stuff, no matter how the crew teased us. Said it would turn us mad. But you can't say that we never snuck a drink or two. One day, I learned what my father had been telling me all along."
I smiled, remembering my own antics in and outside the Benbow, not all of them with my mother's knowledge or consent. As the Captain and I sat in silence, I swirled the Purp juice around in my glass till he tapped the table twice with his fingers. I looked at him then.
"Two years ago, when my father was still alive, I did something he'd been dreaming of since I was born." When he said that, I realized that he was starting, and I listened more closely. "I applied to Interstellar. I knew that getting in and making good would do him proud."
A shadow passed over his eyes, and he stared at the rim of his empty glass. "I desperately wanted to get in. I was rejected the first time, but I appealed. Still a negative." I was confused. How could the Academy reject someone as promising and intelligent as Captain Peter? Not only was he a good spacer, he was a great leader - something they wanted all their students to be. Before I could ask about it, he went on.
"I got over the rejection, especially when my father died. I couldn't go to the Academy then, not with the Interloper to run."
"What does this have to do with Felix?" I asked. He poured some more juice into his glass and offered to fill mine also. I accepted it politely and sipped as I listened.
He sighed. "Felix was Father's little girl. He was so fond of her, especially after Mother died. From him, I learned to be protective of my little sister. When I was older, my father and I would stay up late, talking about the future we wanted for her. While I was his son, he was already beginning to treat me like a man."
"We raised her together, and every time I look at her, I look for something that shows where we went wrong. But every time I begin to doubt our 'work', she does something unexpected and wonderful, and I feel relieved."
I began to understand the Captain now. He wasn't forced into his life - somehow, because of his love for his family, he had chosen to grow up a little more quickly than others had. To me, this further explained the crew's respect for its Captain.
"Anyhow, Father and I were heroes to Felix. She loved us better than any living soul we knew. Sometimes, I would be surprised to find that it was she pulling me out of trouble. She was beginning to grow up, too. My father felt happy to know that we looked out for each other." He swallowed and set the glass down.
"Like I said, we were her heroes, and when Father died, I was left. She wanted to be just like me. So, she took her turn and applied to the Academy. Just this year."
I knew where this was going. Before the year had ended, I'd seen the ISA cargo vehicles move back and forth between the Postal Service Center. Some of the messages were green lights; others were red. The moment the Captain finished his sentence, I knew what had happened.
I asked, "Is that why she was sad, when I talked about the Academy?" He looked at me and nodded. Suddenly, he looked much older than eighteen.
"I don't understand," I continued. "How - how could the Academy reject two spacers as fine as you? I know guys who are in there and are only half as great as you can be. I don't understand..."
Captain Peter sighed and pushed his glass away. We sat in a long, awful silence before he spoke again.
"We lacked money, but we were qualified applicants for the scholarship. We are intelligent, have excellent coordination, and have just-as-excellent social skills. We weren't rejected for lack of those things." I watched his eyes in puzzlement.
"You don't know how discriminating the ISA Admissions Board can be. You don't know how lucky you are. At least they interviewed you, and admitted you. They didn't even give us a chance. One look at our papers was all it took to get the red stamp."
I couldn't believe it. Was it true? My mother said that the Academy was turning me into a fine young man and not just a fine young spacer. Could the same Academy be so cruel to spacers who could be finer than I was?
"Why?" I asked at last.
Captain Peter looked at me fiercely. I had seen him angry a few times, but not from this close. He was fearsome, and I worried that he was angry at me. Only later, I realized that he was angry at the ISA. "Felix applied this year, hoping that they'd give her a chance now that some time had passed since Father died. But they were still harsh on us. They wouldn't let her in... because of who our father was."
I blinked. This was unbelievable. It had to be a mistake. "What? But - who was your father? I don't understand."
Before the Captain could speak, there was a series of thuds above and around us. We were jerked this way and that because of the vibrations. "What the - !" An alarm sounded, and we both heard Felix's voice calling.
"Peter! Peter, where are you? We need you up here! We're under attack!"
