A/N – new weekend, new chapter. No big notes that I can think of, except
maybe changing Rigel's name. For some reason, it totally eluded me on the
fact that there were Rigelians in the story. Dunno why.
"Day Nine. I think. According to the numbers I've managed to steal from the Navigation base, we are 12 parsecs away from the UPP. About 39 light years from the only place I've ever known. It's impossible. There is no way these calculations can be right." I was babbling. It was a good thing I realized that I was, or else I know I had gone crazy. They do say crazy people never know they are crazy. Yeah, that made sense.
The door slid open and Caine walked in numbly. A cage-mate! However, years of conditioning kept me in my seat and watching her with jaded, or at least bored, eyes. She all but collapsed on a seat opposite of me, kind of like Mother after a very long day. After a couple of moments of staring at the floor, she looked up at me. "Hi. Finally woke up, did you?" Her voice was hoarse.
"Yeah, right before we were 'rescued'. So, you're Caine. Morrighan."
"Nice to meet you. Where are we?"
"The Christa." I just barely noticed her little start when I said Christa. Interesting. "So far I haven't seen much of it. Just this room, some halls, the Galley, and some study with an Andromedan. It's not fair, and I'm never going to cage an animal after this. Unless they deserve it."
Caine blinked. I didn't blame her; my thoughts have been going off track for days on end now. Talking to someone else was going to get some getting used to. "Are we going home?"
"Probably not. Read these." I handed her the compupad with the Navigation information on it. "I managed to glean these off today, but I'm sure they're wrong." They have to be wrong. "It was the best I could hack into."
"12 parsecs?! That's almost forty light years away from home! Did we jump through some time portal or what?"
"I figure it's was a glitch report. So, as of no use to us." I turned to some book Radu sent me.
"The most likely explanation." Caine replied. We lapsed into silence, interrupted only by Caine typing away on the compupad. I was trying too busy trying to translate the Lumanian in the document to consider what she was trying to do. "Hey, here's a message from Rigel."
"Who?" Was it a Mercurian thing to personify stars? Especially home stars?
"The Earther. Didn't you meet him? He seems to know you."
Oh right. Weirdo. "What's he say?"
"They can't get out of the bunkrooms and that Chara and I are still passed out. Rigel traced your code to you and wants you to reply back."
"Well, first mistake was assuming I know how to find messages. Did he mention anything about crazy journal entries?" I wondered if he could hack through the program I initiated around that.
"No, he didn't. Why?"
"No reason. So, how long ago was this sent?"
"Two days ago." The same day I found Radu. At least, that's what I recorded. It felt almost as far away as home was. "I'll reply back."
"You do that." I went back to reading my book.
More typing and silence ensued. Surprisingly, I was more relaxed with the extra noises then by the silence of before. I wasn't alone anymore.
"What do you do for fun here? Read?" Caine asked once she finished contacting the boys' bunk. I looked up at her, watching her soft blue eyes dance over the various heaps of books I had piled everywhere. Surprisingly, her soft colored eyes didn't bother me as much as Orwid's or Kitya's had. Maybe it was because they were blue rather then brown, or that she was Mercurian rather then Uranusian. Hm. That was going to have to take some thought the next time I was able to spare it.
"I had a week of absolutely nothing to do but eat and sleep. So yes, there are only books. Get cracking." My book was getting awfully boring. The main character was turning into a whiny man that was becoming too closely associated with Anthem. And do not get me started on that story. Earthers that write stuff such as that should be water-tortured.
"I would think you would be satisfied with that."
"Well, you're wrong." This book wasn't worth the trash compacter. I threw it behind me in an ever-growing pile of trashy books. What did I need?
"Happens. Oh, Rigel replied back!"
I needed something I didn't need to think about. Two bounces later I had some trashy romance novel in one hand and a translator in the other. Quickly I converted the Saturnian piece into Urani and started reading. Oh, it starts with a sex scene. You know that it's quality fiction then.
"We can't get out, can we?" Caine asked, looking up at me.
"Nope. Radu has seen to it personally that I barely go to the bathroom." Or else it was 'Ris. Either way, I had to fight the door every time I needed to pee or take a shower.
"Okay. Rigel says he and Bara have come up with a way to get out of their room."
"Been there, done that. Tell them not to look for scary Andromedans and they'll be fine." I skipped a few chapters of drivel to the middle. Oh, threesomes. Saturnians were twisted, but not as twisted as Uranusians. We get the award nearly every time.
"I'll pass the message along. And I'll ask about the navigation information."
"You do that." I murmured while doing my best to give off every bored vibe I was able to. Caine impatiently tapped her nails on some gray table next to her.
The compupad dinged, something I assumed was new. I certainly had never heard it before. Caine quickly read through it. "Rigel came up with the same calculations you did. So, you didn't fuck up."
"Yay, that."
"Bara thanks you for the warning…"
"Do you thinks he knows I was being sarcastic?"
"Probably. I haven't known any of them all that long."
"Longer then I did." I muttered. This book was swiftly becoming too perverse for what I really needed to think about right now. Pity. I threw it into a 'waiting to be finished' pile. I seemed to be gaining a lot of those.
"They're heading out now. They'll update us once they return."
I sighed and sat back. "They're going to get caught. Just wait."
"Don't be so pessimistic." Caine chided. "Give them a chance."
"I am. What does this look like? I just know their going to be caught and dragged back by their ears." I also knew full well I couldn't have stopped them even if I wanted to. Living across a large ship had consequences like that.
"Day Nine. I think. According to the numbers I've managed to steal from the Navigation base, we are 12 parsecs away from the UPP. About 39 light years from the only place I've ever known. It's impossible. There is no way these calculations can be right." I was babbling. It was a good thing I realized that I was, or else I know I had gone crazy. They do say crazy people never know they are crazy. Yeah, that made sense.
The door slid open and Caine walked in numbly. A cage-mate! However, years of conditioning kept me in my seat and watching her with jaded, or at least bored, eyes. She all but collapsed on a seat opposite of me, kind of like Mother after a very long day. After a couple of moments of staring at the floor, she looked up at me. "Hi. Finally woke up, did you?" Her voice was hoarse.
"Yeah, right before we were 'rescued'. So, you're Caine. Morrighan."
"Nice to meet you. Where are we?"
"The Christa." I just barely noticed her little start when I said Christa. Interesting. "So far I haven't seen much of it. Just this room, some halls, the Galley, and some study with an Andromedan. It's not fair, and I'm never going to cage an animal after this. Unless they deserve it."
Caine blinked. I didn't blame her; my thoughts have been going off track for days on end now. Talking to someone else was going to get some getting used to. "Are we going home?"
"Probably not. Read these." I handed her the compupad with the Navigation information on it. "I managed to glean these off today, but I'm sure they're wrong." They have to be wrong. "It was the best I could hack into."
"12 parsecs?! That's almost forty light years away from home! Did we jump through some time portal or what?"
"I figure it's was a glitch report. So, as of no use to us." I turned to some book Radu sent me.
"The most likely explanation." Caine replied. We lapsed into silence, interrupted only by Caine typing away on the compupad. I was trying too busy trying to translate the Lumanian in the document to consider what she was trying to do. "Hey, here's a message from Rigel."
"Who?" Was it a Mercurian thing to personify stars? Especially home stars?
"The Earther. Didn't you meet him? He seems to know you."
Oh right. Weirdo. "What's he say?"
"They can't get out of the bunkrooms and that Chara and I are still passed out. Rigel traced your code to you and wants you to reply back."
"Well, first mistake was assuming I know how to find messages. Did he mention anything about crazy journal entries?" I wondered if he could hack through the program I initiated around that.
"No, he didn't. Why?"
"No reason. So, how long ago was this sent?"
"Two days ago." The same day I found Radu. At least, that's what I recorded. It felt almost as far away as home was. "I'll reply back."
"You do that." I went back to reading my book.
More typing and silence ensued. Surprisingly, I was more relaxed with the extra noises then by the silence of before. I wasn't alone anymore.
"What do you do for fun here? Read?" Caine asked once she finished contacting the boys' bunk. I looked up at her, watching her soft blue eyes dance over the various heaps of books I had piled everywhere. Surprisingly, her soft colored eyes didn't bother me as much as Orwid's or Kitya's had. Maybe it was because they were blue rather then brown, or that she was Mercurian rather then Uranusian. Hm. That was going to have to take some thought the next time I was able to spare it.
"I had a week of absolutely nothing to do but eat and sleep. So yes, there are only books. Get cracking." My book was getting awfully boring. The main character was turning into a whiny man that was becoming too closely associated with Anthem. And do not get me started on that story. Earthers that write stuff such as that should be water-tortured.
"I would think you would be satisfied with that."
"Well, you're wrong." This book wasn't worth the trash compacter. I threw it behind me in an ever-growing pile of trashy books. What did I need?
"Happens. Oh, Rigel replied back!"
I needed something I didn't need to think about. Two bounces later I had some trashy romance novel in one hand and a translator in the other. Quickly I converted the Saturnian piece into Urani and started reading. Oh, it starts with a sex scene. You know that it's quality fiction then.
"We can't get out, can we?" Caine asked, looking up at me.
"Nope. Radu has seen to it personally that I barely go to the bathroom." Or else it was 'Ris. Either way, I had to fight the door every time I needed to pee or take a shower.
"Okay. Rigel says he and Bara have come up with a way to get out of their room."
"Been there, done that. Tell them not to look for scary Andromedans and they'll be fine." I skipped a few chapters of drivel to the middle. Oh, threesomes. Saturnians were twisted, but not as twisted as Uranusians. We get the award nearly every time.
"I'll pass the message along. And I'll ask about the navigation information."
"You do that." I murmured while doing my best to give off every bored vibe I was able to. Caine impatiently tapped her nails on some gray table next to her.
The compupad dinged, something I assumed was new. I certainly had never heard it before. Caine quickly read through it. "Rigel came up with the same calculations you did. So, you didn't fuck up."
"Yay, that."
"Bara thanks you for the warning…"
"Do you thinks he knows I was being sarcastic?"
"Probably. I haven't known any of them all that long."
"Longer then I did." I muttered. This book was swiftly becoming too perverse for what I really needed to think about right now. Pity. I threw it into a 'waiting to be finished' pile. I seemed to be gaining a lot of those.
"They're heading out now. They'll update us once they return."
I sighed and sat back. "They're going to get caught. Just wait."
"Don't be so pessimistic." Caine chided. "Give them a chance."
"I am. What does this look like? I just know their going to be caught and dragged back by their ears." I also knew full well I couldn't have stopped them even if I wanted to. Living across a large ship had consequences like that.