SHIPPING OUT
Nessa held the flimsi package in her hands. She knew very well what it contained. She had steamed it open to look inside and then ever so carefully sealed it again.
She had learned the skills of snooping by watching her mother. Maris Flint-Frasier-Tandin for all her good intentions had always been a terrible snoop.
It was a useful talent, running a busy dockside pub and inn with all sorts of visitors coming and going all the time, especially with the Empire starting to breathe down their necks even here, way up North.
Besides, it wasn't really snooping. Nessa was only trying to look out for her best friend.
"How long have you had it?" Kayla, who was sitting across the booth from Nessa, asked, gesturing to the package in her hands.
"A couple of months."
Kayla nodded. "My professor commed me. He said that Chuck had agreed to compensate his model for her time. He wanted to make sure that the deal was upheld."
Nessa turned the package she was holding over and over in her hands nervously. "You think I should give her this?"
"You posed for him as well?"
"I don't want anything from him!" The poor girl burst out. "He wanted more from me than just posing for pictures and when I wouldn't do that, he called me all sorts of things that weren't true! And Lana was in love with him. Maybe she still is. Whatever it was, she was just starting to get over it and… and I didn't want to dredge all that up again."
Kayla reached over the table between them and laid her hand on the other girl's. "Maybe now that it's been awhile and she's had some time to let all that cool, it's about time to tell her the truth."
Nessa heaved a shaky sigh. "Maybe you're right."
A few hours later she'd finally gathered the courage to deliver the package to the Hold. Lana squealed when she saw the delivery and practically ripped the package from Nessa's hands.
"Something you were expecting?" she asked trying to sound innocent.
Lana nodded. "It's from Chuck! He must be done with the gallery and he's sending for me. Maybe he got me a ..." She trailed off seeing the contents of the package. "It's credits."
She pulled a note from among the chits. "'Miss Blackwell, this is your compensation for time spent.' He … he didn't even sign his name."
Nessa didn't know what to say. "I… I'm sorry," she finally managed.
"You're sorry?"
"I know you've been waiting…"
Lana's forehead creased in a deeper frown as she suspiciously turned the package over to look at the postage date. "Did it… get lost in the mail?"
Nessa shook her head, riddled with guilt. "N-no. I… I didn't want…"
"You didn't want me to hear from him at all." Lana began to work up a steam. "You wanted him all for yourself. You were jealous that finally a boy liked me better than you and you just couldn't bare it!"
"P-please, Lana. That's not…" tears pooled in Nessa's eyes and threatened to spill over but her one time best friend never noticed.
Lana thrust the package back into the older girl's hands spilling some of the credit chits onto the floor. "Well, here then! You wanted him and you can have his kriffing credits!"
...
Truly it was a shock that no one else found Lana before Kayla. Her sister-in-law had never been good at finding hiding places, and hadn't even bothered to take cover in Kayla's makeshift studio.
Kayla dragged a chair to Lana's side and sat. "I hear you got a package in the post."
"A couple of months ago!" Lana cried. "I thought Nessa was my friend but she kept him from me! She made me think he didn't want anything to do with me when he left but he really did, and now he paid me to go away!"
"I see," Kayla wrapped a comforting arm around Lana's shoulders while simultaneously thanking the salt gods that Chuck had indeed left without trying to make further contact. He was no Emoth. He only wanted one thing and wouldn't have stood by Lana if and when things got complicated.
Thinking of complications reminded Kayla of something else: "When you asked me about the hypo it wasn't for a friend, was it?"
Lana shook her head and wiped her nose on her sleeve. "I was just trying to learn from someone else's mistakes."
Kayla's stomach sank. Speaking of mistakes, wasn't it about time for her to…?
"I'll be right back, Lana," she said and hurried from the room.
That couldn't be right. Kayla frantically flipped through the pages on her calendar. Maybe she skipped a page? The things got stuck together all the time. Now just was one of those times, wasn't it? It couldn't possibly have been six weeks since she last…
The pages wouldn't come apart. Stupid thing! Kayla pulled harder and the flimsi sliced her thumb.
"Ow!" She stuck her thumb in her mouth and tried to mentally bring up the calendar. If her cycle started six weeks ago, then it should have been back two weeks ago. Or maybe not? Maybe she'd counted wrong.
As if she needed one more thing to worry about Dalla came into the room. "Kayla, do you know Bernard's class schedule off the top of your head? I'm trying to find a good time to comm him about that project I hired him for."
"Um, I know he has a class in the midmorning." Kayla's voice cracked and she broke down into tears.
"Oh gods." Dalla placed a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong? What is it?"
"It-it…" Kayla gestured to the calendar.
Dalla saw it. "Oh."
"Are the pages stuck together?"
She picked it up. "No, they're not. Is this your…?"
Kayla sobbed and Dalla hugged her. "It's going to be okay. We're going to get you cleaned up, and then we're going to go to the drugstore and get a test. Lux and Emoth will watch the kids. Okay?"
Kayla nodded against Dalla's shoulder and wiped her eyes.
…
"Do you want some candy?" Dalla held out the liquorice whips she'd bought at the drugstore alongside Kayla's pregnancy tests.
"How can you eat right now?" Kayla hugged her knees to her chest. "We've already had one positive test!"
"It wasn't positive, it was defective. There was only a little blue at the ends," Dalla put the candy away. "Sometimes they act up like that. All we can do is relax while the next one seasons."
Kayla looked to the timer they were using to measure how long the test had to go and seeing as it only had a few seconds left, switched it off and picked the test up off the counter.
"Do you want to watch the HoloNet news?" Dalla asked, oblivious to what Kayla was doing. "It may not be happy but at least it's something to get your mind off the situation."
Kayla wasn't listening. "Dalla."
"It's stressful enough when you don't have a distraction."
"Dalla!"
This time Dalla heard the panic in Kayla's voice. In a flash she'd crossed the room and taken in the clearly stressed Kayla, and her pregnancy test with two clearly defined blue lines.
"Well, osik."
"That's not defective!" Kayla cried. "It's positive. What do I do?"
Dalla seemed shocked as anyone. "I...I didn't think it was going to be positive."
Kayla wailed.
"Hold on," Dalla sat them both down on the couch and wrapped her arm around Kayla's shoulders. "I'm sorry. This is scary enough when you have someone who knows what they're doing."
Kayla hadn't even heard her. "Oron's in so much pain and he's only three! How can I do that to another child?"
It was hard for Dalla not to dwell on that fact as well but she sought for a positive. "Jak and Suza were both healthy, maybe this one will be as well."
"We…" Kayla took a deep shaky breath. "We did always say we wanted two boys and two girls. But… but that was before Oron. Before we knew it was possible that…"
Dalla grasped onto the former. "You know how much Suza would love having a baby sister."
"She would, wouldn't she?" Kayla smiled through her tears and then shook her head. "We'll just have to pray to the salt gods for a healthy baby girl or… or a boy. As long as it's healthy, that's what matters."
Dalla grabbed a box of tissues and placed them on Kayla's lap. "Do you know what Jak said to me when I had snack duty a few days ago? He wants to be a doctor so he can take care of kids like his brother."
"Really?"
"Really. And have you ever known Jak not to do what he says he's going to? He'll be applying to medical schools by the time he's twelve. He's going to be an amazing doctor and he's going to do so much for Oron and anyone else with this disease."
"He will," Kayla blotted at her tears with a tissue. "He's such a good big brother."
"Aye, he is. He's going to be amazing with this baby. And Suza too. Remember when Oron was little and we had to keep her from hauling him around like one of her dolls?"
Kayla nodded. "I do. She'll try to do it with this one, no matter how we try to stop her."
Dalla put a hand on her shoulder. "And I promise you that Lux and I will be there to help you chase down your little monsters. No matter how things turn out."
…
Captain Arkon Blackwell could have had a girl in every port. He was a handsome young noble with his Lady mother's fair hair and his Admiral father's little boy grin. He would have been quite a catch for any girl, if he stayed in any port long enough to be caught.
Even in his own home port at Blackhold he was eager to be done with the business at hand and then get back out on the water. They said he took after his father in that respect as well. If it hadn't been for some sort family emergency he would have most likely stayed on the Storm Rider to oversee reprovisioning from the deck.
The Admiral's orders hadn't been specific as to what sort of chaos he was about to walk into. That was why he had decided to step into the pub on the way over. Surely Aunt Maris would know what was going on and she could clue him in.
He sat at the bar and ordered a drink but neither Aunt Maris nor her husband, Uncle Grigori, were anywhere in sight. Arkon was on the point of asking Nessa where he might find them, or perhaps he could just ask her since she was Lana's best friend, when he noticed her tears.
He reached out and his hand brushed against hers as she handed him his drink. She startled and they stared at each other for half a moment as if they had never seen each other before.
Finally he spoke, "you've been crying. Is everything alright?"
"It's… it's nothing," she averted.
"It doesn't seem like nothing." He had a sudden inspiration. "It doesn't have anything to do with whatever's going on up at the Hold, does it? Dad ordered me home and I was hoping for a little insight before…"
Nessa attempted to wipe her eyes with her sleeve. "I don't know."
He took a flimsi napkin from the dispenser and dried them for her. "Then what's all this about?"
His gaze held hers and didn't drift elsewhere, not like Chuck and pretty much every other boy on the planet, as if he actually cared what she had to say.
"It's Lana," she sighed. "There was this artist and I was only trying to look out for my friend. He was just playing with her. I swear I didn't do anything to lead him on but Lana still blames me and now she's not speaking to me."
Arkon took her hand. "You were just trying to help. Lana will figure that out once she cools down. It wasn't your fault."
"Do you really think so?"
"Aye! You know how Lana is." He smiled and looked down at her hand in his. He decided he didn't really want to let go. "Hey, I have to go up to the Hold anyway in a bit. I'll talk to her if you'd like me to."
"Aye, thanks." She also didn't seem to be in a hurry for him to go. "You'll finish your drink first?"
"Aye." He remembered it was there and picked it up with his free hand to take a sip. He'd make it last as long as he could.
…
"That artist thing happened months ago," Arkon said to Lux in the kitchen where he and his cousin-in-law were both enjoying a late lunch of sandwiches. "Why do they still care about it?"
"Because they're girls," Lux replied.
"What does that matter? It was still a long time ago, they should be over it."
"Girls aren't like guys. When guys get into a fight, they throw a few punches and it's over. Girls will take it to their grave."
Arkon gave him a questioning look and Lux sighed and set down his sandwich. "Okay, here's an example. When I was thirteen a boy at my boarding school called me a nuna-legged loser and tripped me in the hall. I jumped up and punched him in the face, we fought on the hallway floor until the teachers pulled us apart, and the next day we played on the same bolo-ball team."
Arkon had seen and been a part of similar situations. "Aye, that makes sense."
"And when Dalla was thirteen a girl tricked her into thinking she had a secret admirer. When Dalla found out they beat each other up until Sloan and some whores peeled them off each other and Sloan carried Dalla back to the Hold like a sack of potatoes. To this day, whenever we go to services we can't sit in the same pew as that girl and her family. And when they look at each other, they glare."
"What? And this was how many years ago?"
Lux sighed and took a bite of his sandwich. "Girls. They never let it go."
Arkon got an idea. "You said it was Sloan who helped break it up, right? Her big brother?"
"He broke up the fistfight," Lux said carefully. "But he couldn't do anything for the resulting feud."
"But that was just some girl, aye? Surely Dalla would have gotten over it if had been her best friend."
"I don't know about that…" Lux began but Arkon was already getting up out of his seat.
"Thanks. I gotta go talk to Lana," the younger man called as he headed off to find his sister.
"Good luck." Lux shook his head and went back to his sandwich.
…
This was not going the way he had imagined.
Lana screamed, "Of course you take her side! You're in love with her just like every other male on the planet! You don't care that she stole the one guy who ever paid any attention to me!"
"No, I'm not!" Arkon countered. "And you are way too young to even be thinking about guys!"
"And how would you know that since you've been on your kriffing ship for the past standard year?"
"I've been out there making a valuable contribution to this family and you should watch your mouth…"
Their father didn't even seem to be phased by their escalating volume as he walked up and stepped between them. Jamos addressed his youngest son, "Good you're home. Meet your new midshipman." He patted Lana on the shoulder.
The siblings looked at each other and then at the Admiral, agast, "WHAT?!"
"Dad, you can't be serious!"
"I've never been more serious," he gazed sternly at his daughter. "Your mother gave you the proper exams as a part of your schooling."
"I thought that was just part of the curriculum to graduate," she mumbled.
"And your duty roster has already been amended to include your new crew members," Jamos informed his son.
The proper response to his superior was, "Aye, Sir," but Arkon choked on the words.
"Good. Glad that's settled."
…
"Dalla, open up! We need you!" Brother and sister had agreed to work together to get out of this mess. The only way they could think of to do that was to go over their father's head. Lady of the North out ranked the Admiral, didn't she?
There was a shuffle of movement with what sounded like two sets of footsteps and a muffled curse before Dalla opened her office door halfway, clad in navy blue medical scrubs.
"Aye, what is it?"
"Why are you in scrubs?" Lana asked. "You look like one of the doctors from Lux's favorite show."
There was a snicker of a laugh from inside the room.
Dalla ignored it. "They're comfortable. What do you need me for?"
Arkon took the lead. "We know you're not directly involved in the planning for the fleet but you're still the Lady of the North. That means you hold the highest command post in the navy and you can override any orders."
"I can," she confirmed. "But that doesn't necessarily mean I will. Which order are you referring to?"
"Well, Dad sort of overreacted to that thing that happened with the artist and -."
"You mean the order assigning you to the Storm Rider?" Dalla laughed out loud. "No way. That was the best idea Uncle Jamos has had in months."
Lana sputtered. "But-but I don't -."
"I frankly don't care that you'd rather stay at home, Lana. You may be the youngest of a second son, but you're still a highborn lady and it's high time you accept the responsibilities that come with that. You will be on that ship for its next voyage, and that's final."
"I don't want her on my crew," Arkon tried another tactic. "Can't she do something else?"
"Uncle Jamos and I agree that Lana should be closely supervised. He can't do it himself, so the next best person is you." She glanced over her shoulder. "I need to go finish something. You two should prepare for your voyage."
She shut the door and before she turned on the soundproofing Arkon and Lana heard snatches of a conversation. This place...ruined the moment...maybe yours?
"Well that didn't go as planned," Arkon sighed as they walked away.
"What do we do now? She has the final authority!"
"Not exactly," They rounded a bend in the hallway and Arkon quickened his pace. "There's one more person here who outranks her. We just need a few minutes to come up with a plan…"
Lux was oddly enough also dressed in scrubs and seemed even more flustered than Dalla when they knocked on his office door a quarter of an hour later but he quickly composed himself. "Arkon, Lana, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Lux," Lana said in her sweetest voice. "I noticed you've been really busy over the last few days. And your job is so interesting."
"Is this a conversation or a job application?" He smiled with amusement.
"Both," she shrugged. This was the best she could hope for if Dalla wouldn't take her off the roster. Working for Lux might be boring, but he liked to do everything himself. The worst he would make her do was put away datapads for an hour before she slipped away with him none the wiser. "Dad wants to assign me to a ship but I thought I could make better use of my time helping you."
Lux smiled and she knew she had him.
"Aye Lana, you can definitely help me. I just need to find a few things..." He rifled around in his desk. "Now, where is that comm frequency?"
"I can help you look."
"No, no that's alright." He gave up on his search and shouted down the hallway. "Hey Dalla, tell that lord we were talking to we found a bride for him!"
Lana grabbed Lux's desk to steady herself. "No!"
"Well, that's all I need help with." Lux scooped a stylus off his desk and went back to his flimziwork without missing a beat. "You should go get fitted for your officer's uniform, Lana. And next time, don't try to pit me against my wife."
Lana startled. "What?"
"The tailor's will be closing soon. You'd better get going if you want to make it in time."
Arkon and Lana all but scrambled out of his office.
Once the door was shut a voice came from under his desk: "'Hey Dalla, tell that lord we found a bride for him?' What exactly did you expect me to do, throw my voice like a ventriloquist?"
Lux tilted his desk chair back to get a better look at his wife. "You're a woman of many talents."
"I am," she agreed, climbing out from under the desk and onto his lap. "And you, tre coi, are getting more attractive by the second. I love it when you shut down their little schemes."
Lux didn't waste a second using the remote control to lock the door again.
…
Well, if she didn't look like another one of the Blackwell boys before, she certainly did now in her brand new uniform, standing at the rail of her brother's ship, looking longingly at the dock from which they would soon be sailing away. She just wanted to be home in the Hold castle.
Lana had largely ignored her fellow crew members since coming aboard. There would be plenty of time to get to know them when they were all stuck together on this stupid voyage for salt gods knew how long. She definitely wasn't in the mood for small talk when she heard the first mate behind her say, "why don't you say hello to your fellow midshipman?"
It hadn't exactly been an order so she ignored this as well until she realized it hadn't been to her that First Mate Colin Kretash was speaking. A boy about her own age though maybe a little taller came over to stand next to her. His spanking new uniform carried the same rank insignia as her own, only he seemed thrilled to be here. He also seemed to have no idea who she was.
"So a female midshipman," he opened the conversation cheerfully.
She bristled. "You think a girl isn't capable?"
"No! No, that's not what I meant. It's just unfortunate that they haven't come up with a less exclusive title in the past thousand or so years." He laughed uncomfortably.
She shrugged. "I passed all the tests."
"Me too." He said proudly. "Although that mathematics was by the skin of my teeth." He confided in her and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "I don't think it hurt my appointment to the Storm Rider that my cousin is the first mate."
She turned and really looked at him for a moment taking in the Kratash eyes, dark mahogany hair, and kind smile and just responded, "aye," before turning back to look at the dock.
She couldn't believe that this boy really didn't have any idea who she was or why she was there. Maybe he'd been too busy studying to know what's been going on it the outside world. She was sure everyone on Onderon had heard about her scandal by now.
Out on the dock the captain was preparing to board the ship but before he did so he was saying goodbye to a girl. She's gave him a basket of food and told him to be careful and that she'd be waiting for him. He asked if he might comm her now and then and she said she would like that very much.
"My name's Aidon Kretash." The boy beside Lana hadn't noticed the drama playing out before them until he saw her seething. He looked back and forth between the scene on the dock and the girl beside him and he guessed, "you're jealous?"
"What? No, you sod! You think I have feelings for the captain? He's my brother!"
"But if Captain Blackwell is your…" Midshipman Aidon Kretash finally put the pieces together. "Then that makes you…"
She rolled her eyes and moved towards the place where the junior officers were instructed to stand to greet the captain as he boarded his ship.
Aidon followed on her heels and whispered, "but I always heard the Captain's little sister looked like just another of the Blackwell boys. You're too pretty to be Lana Blackwell."
She whispered back to him out of the corner of her mouth, "now you're just making fun of me."
He smiled, turning his eyes forward to stand at attention. "I don't think making fun of a Blackwell would be very good for my career."
