Note: It seems that there have been some problems on the website lately re email notifications; some people hadn't received the Chapter 31 notification and I haven't been receiving email notifications of reviews etc. I've asked FF Net to look into it and hopefully it'll get sorted.
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DAY 32 – Exploration
Chapter 32 – Cautious Approach
The upper port side of the Salvager ship hung in the darkness ahead of the Valse. The angle of the Valse's approach hadn't changed, but it had taken frustratingly long to cross the empty distance to the unknown ship via sublight. Distances felt warped out here among nothingness and little had changed in the two standard hours it had taken to reach the ship, but the time had been used wisely. The Fleet ships had performed deeper scans of the stellar neighbourhood and ensured there was nothing hidden by the screening radiation of the local dust cloud or the passing ice comet. Nothing had been detected of any interest or concern, so the Valse had begun her final approach.
With the three Fleet ships at a distance and two full wings of Fighter ships holding a wide semicircular perimeter around and behind the Valse, the Salvager ship began to fill the forward viewport in front of Seifer. He switched his attention regularly between the view and the sensor display screen glowing to his right, in front of which intensely focused Satedan technicians worked constantly scanning and analysing the data coming in. Nothing had changed about the drifting Salvager ship so far on the approach, though actually one piece of information had been interesting. The ship's gentle slow momentum was forward, the nose of its bow leading the way, suggesting the engines had been engaged moving the ship forward before they had lost power or been shut off. That suggested to Seifer that the ship hadn't been under heavy weapons fire at the time the engines stopped, the impacts of which would have altered the angle of the ship's flight, though it didn't eliminate the possibility that the ship had been running from something.
Or perhaps something else entirely had happened. There was an infamous old case of a ship of the early Military Fleet that had disappeared only to be found drifting near the then border, no signals or beacons calling for help detected. Upon boarding the early-style ship, the entire crew had been found dead of asphyxiation, some still slumped over their meals. The investigation had revealed that an accident in a storage bay had released a deadly gas into the air system of the ship that had killed the entire crew in minutes, and the incident had completely changed how the Alliance organised its air circulation and filtering systems on ships. Had something similar happened here? Had the crew been killed at their posts? Or had some deadly disease run through them before they could reach help, the engine failing and dying without any living crew left to maintain it?
Seifer considered the readings of the approaching ship. There were no portholes in the Salvager hull save those just visible at the front of the unidentified ship, but that wasn't going to be the main focus as the Valse approached. No, it was the back end of the ship that was of more initial interest, where the shuttle bay would be located and usually any weapons fire damage targeted as the ship had run.
"Reaching close weapons range," someone reported to Commander Ara. The Satedan Commander had spent the last two hours walking around Central Station, looking at each department's progress, looking over shoulders at screens, and liaising with the Fleet ships. The air of Satedan excitement still held in the air, though it had clearly dimmed into frustration over the long hours on the journey here, but the crew had held their Satedan impatience in check, all of them seasoned warriors with hard won experience in battle.
"All close weapons on lock," Ara ordered as she strode back towards her central command chair.
"All locked on target," someone responded.
"Latest readings?" Ara called.
"No radiation out of standard," one technician sat in front of Seifer replied. "No new readings on target."
Seifer watched the data scrolling in front of the technician's intense focus. Nothing new, just cold metal in space.
No sign of the Skerti drive radiation. If the tech had been used close to the Salvager ship, they should be able to detect it by now.
"Fleet ships report nothing new on sensors, no new radiation," another voice reported loudly.
If it hadn't been Skerti or an internal cause that had killed this ship, then perhaps it could still have been Wraith?
"Good," Ara commented on the readings. "Let's head in then. Re-range, Pilot, take us starboard track three."
"Yes, Commander."
Seifer switched his attention to the view out the front, watching the course angle alter the Valse's approach towards the back end of the Salvager ship.
Near silence filled Central Station, just the odd cough or click of buttons on consoles all that could be heard. All eyes were on readings or were watching the Salvager ship grow larger through the viewport.
More pockmarks and a couple of decent dents slid into view across one of the ship's engine blocks. Seifer looked to the sensor data. Nothing new. No signals of energy weapons damage of any kind. Just standard physical dents of Salvager life among asteroids and from close combat with their competitors.
"Stern indentations appear old, no energy weapons readings," the technician reported for Ara.
"Swing us round behind them, Pilot," Ara ordered more informally, allowing her Piloting Lead to set their own course.
Seifer looked back to the view outside, the back end of the Salvager ship now filling the screen.
"Shuttle bay doors are shut," someone reported what Seifer could already see. "No weapons damage visible."
A nice clear view into the ship would have been useful, and would have been a good point of ingress to board the Salvager ship, but it at least supported the theory that the ship had indeed been at speed before it lost all power.
"If the ship was in flight, the bay doors would have been kept shut," Seifer added his commentary.
"Or the ships emergency procedures sealed it," Ara responded.
That was possible. "Atmosphere loss if the bay was breached," Seifer considered.
"Sensor readings on the bay seal?" Area asked of her crew.
"No indications of any damage, no evidence of escape points for leaked atmosphere, no radiation except standard background," the technician reported.
"Someone didn't physically break their way in then," Seifer concluded. Unless they had gotten aboard first and then breached further into the ship from the bay? A rival Salvager group perhaps? Allowed into the bay because their ships looked right, but then they attacked? Maybe this ship had been attacked and abandoned during a Salvager civil war, though surely a Salvager group would never simply abandon such a useful ship as this.
"Keep us moving round, Pilot," Ara ordered. "Let us see her other side."
"Yes, Commander."
Seifer watched as the second engine block slid through the view, more dents creating tiny shadows across the hull. There was less local starlight this side of the ship, but the bright lights of the Valse's nose lit up across the hull. A second later, the light spilled down the now just visible far side of the hull. Seifer fixed his eyes on the view.
"Bring us round, keep distance," Ara ordered, her voice moving. Seifer didn't look round, but he could hear her boots moving across Central Station towards the front.
"Yes, Commander."
The spotlights of the Valse shone across more bare hull and then caught dark lines. Of paint. A name.
"Salvager pictographs for sure," Ara noted.
"Building ident scan and analysis," someone responded for her.
As the Valse slid further around the ship, more of the painted pictographs became visible. Seifer couldn't read Salvager text since it was simply technical in its meaning, not an actual language.
"No ident found in Alliance records."
"Not unusual for Salvager ships," Seifer pointed out. Since the Salvagers were not Alliance people, the only records the Alliance had were from encountering the ships directly or from Division research.
"It's not listed on the Division report," Ara noted.
Seifer nodded. Again, not a great surprise, but it suggested to Seifer two possible reasons: that no one had survived this ship to tell of it being missing. "Or," he considered out loud, "it's old."
The hull certainly didn't look anything close to new, but it had taken a lot of abuse out here and was clearly built for strength and size, not to look flashy.
"Pilot, dip us to see her belly," Ara ordered.
Seifer watched the sideways slide along the Salvager ship drop, sending the spotlights along a pockmarked but otherwise unscathed ship belly. This ship clearly had never gone into an atmosphere, which, given its size, probably made sense. The Salvagers would have used their smaller haulage and trading vessels to move product to and from this processing ship.
"No weapons damage detectable on underside hull."
Seifer heard Ara let out a slightly frustrated snort. "Keep us on towards her nose, Pilot."
"Yes, Commander."
"No computer pick up?" Ara asked, her voice moving away across Central Station.
"No, Commander. We're not getting any response from standard handshake triggers."
Clearly there was no, even minimally powered, computer alive on the ship to respond. It was a dead ship.
Seifer watched as the Valse reached the nose of the ship. "Let me see their glass," Ara ordered, her boots echoing back to the front of Central Station.
The skilled Satedan pilot swung the Valse slowly round, bringing it nose to nose with the Salvager ship and the spot lights shifted over the intact bow, up towards the short but wide front viewport of the Salvager ship.
"Expand," Ara ordered.
Seifer watched as the view was digitally enhanced and expanded. The Valse's lights shone through a glittering frost layer over the viewport glass, highlighting dark computer panels inside and, just about visible at this angle, several empty piloting seats, frost particles floating around them.
No bodies.
"Sensor readings?" Area asked.
"Nothing new to report, Commander," the technician in front of Seifer replied, a noticeable edge of disappointment in his tone.
Seifer left the sensor screen and headed to Ara's side. She had her fists on her hips as she glared at the empty ship outside.
"A dead ship with no power, no signs of damage or Skerti radiation, and no crew in sight," Seifer summed up as he reached her.
"No gravity, no safe atmosphere," Ara muttered as she nodded.
"It could have been drifting for years," he considered.
She turned in place. "Only one thing to do then," she decided with clear excitement returning to her voice.
He nodded as she turned to face her crew.
"I want a boarding point located and us tethered to the Salvager ship in ten count, and tech crews ready for drill in and power link up in twenty count," Area ordered loudly and Central Station went from near silence to an explosion of noise, orders and boots moving around as the crew launched into their work.
Seifer kept his eyes on the limited view of the Salvager Central Station through the frosty viewport. No bodies – Wraith culled or otherwise – or anything else but frost floating around in view.
He felt Ara shift next to him and he glanced round at her.
"Let's spring the trap," she grinned.
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Massa had witnessed the most amazing advancements in his life; He'd seen the fast deployment of electric power for every planet and moon within the Alliance, seen the amazing development of space flight, energy weapons, sensor platforms, and personal electronic computer pads. Yet, in all those amazing developments, of all the Human endeavours that had saved countless lives, he had never loved anything as much as the Earth-made chilled teething ring.
Keeping to his word, the Earth Healer, Dr Beckett, had yesterday sent through three designs of the teething rings that, when chilled, could be given to a babe to help numb the pain of teething.
Surely never had such a wondrous invention as this been created!
Aki hadn't been entirely sure of his first gummy chew of the first bright coloured teething ring yesterday, seeming confused by perhaps the taste, the sensation, or maybe even the cold, but the reluctance hadn't lasted long.
Massa sighed in happy delight as he supported one side of today's teething ring as Aki chewed on one of its textured bobbles, his son murmuring bright happy noises as he worked his gums on the thing. This version of the teething ring was bright green with several bobbles around the circumference, and appeared to be Aki' favourite so far. Dr Beckett had included very clear instructions with the gifts, explaining how often they could be used and what temperature range was best to prepare them. Massa already had a small chilling unit in his quarters to store donated milk for Aki, but he also had a space in the chilled unit in the infant care area, so he'd put one of the rings in there for Aki' caregivers for while he was on duty. The new item had caused a lot of interest when he'd dropped Aki off this morning, the care and teaching staff all gathering round to see Aki demonstrate the Earth tech. Of course, Aki always gathered attention, the staff there always happy to dote on him with smiles and cuddles, and Aki seemed to enjoy his time there. Massa would prefer to keep Aki with him all the time, but teaching Recruits took a lot of focus and attention, and Aki received the best care and socialisation by staying in the care area when Massa was working.
Today though, Massa's morning had been filled with a long important meeting on the results of the recent Recruit assessments, but his afternoon was off duty, and he had only his shift sitting with Oneakka planned. So, he had collected Aki and brought him to the canteen for Midday meal. Aki had apparently had a very happy morning with the care staff, with no obvious teething pain and they hadn't had to give him the next teething ring. Massa suspected his son's cheerful mood was due to the excellent night's sleep he'd had last night. The first chilled ring had helped his boy fall asleep in record time and Aki had only woken once in the night. In fact, it had taken Massa longer to fall back to sleep than it had Aki. Though, it had been enjoyable just lying down in his own bed again now that Oneakka didn't need his "babysitters" with him through the nights anymore. Massa had to wonder if Aki had been enjoying being back in his own crib every night as well. Either way, it had been the best night's sleep for both of them in a long time.
And the afternoon appeared to be peaceful for his boy so far as well. After his Midday meal, Aki had started grumbling a little, his cheeks turning pink, but Massa had prepared for that by having stored the third teething ring in one of the canteen's chilling units, and Aki was now happily lying in his arms chewing away.
"He seems to thoroughly enjoy it," Emmagan smiled from Massa's left where she was leaning in to see Aki' face.
"It is the most wondrous invention ever," Massa explained to her.
She chuckled as she smiled up at him. "I am sure it is." She reached in and stroked the top of Aki' head facing towards her and Massa watched Aki' bright little blue eyes close happily at the gentle touch. As Emmagan leaned away though, Aki' eyes opened again and a wet grin spread around the ring's bobble. Massa grinned down at his boy and Aki went back to his chewing.
"Perhaps we should be looking to trade them in from Atlantis," Halling suggested from the other side of the canteen table. "If your reaction is any indication, other parents will welcome them."
Halling was looking much better following his recent his chest infection, with only the occasional light cough any sign he'd had it. He was also looking more rested too, as the previous months of caring and worrying over Oneakka as well as leading the Skerti research had clearly taken a toll on him. The enforced rest because of the chest infection had done him some good to Massa's eye.
"It may be worth honestly considering it," Emmagan agreed with Halling.
She had joined them for Midday meal having sat with Oneakka for awhile first thing this morning and then been back working on the details of the trading contract with Atlantis. It appeared the negotiations were still ongoing, but the pace was building, so hopefully it would all be sorted by the time the Sythus would be leaving. Massa was pleased that she was involved, since her close ties with Atlantis were paying off in the negotiations as far as he had been able to keep pace with the negotiation reports. Plus, he always enjoyed spending time with his old friend, and he knew she really enjoyed time with Aki. Though, he considered her with more focus, she was looking a little drawn in the face today.
Her dark eyes lifted from Aki to him. "Especially before my Uncle hears of these 'wondrous inventions'," she warned with a smile.
"Mmm, good point," he considered. Elkaska was an infamously competitive trader, and once he established a trading relationship it was unlikely to be broken. Maybe it would be worth discussing the matter with Dr Beckett, to put some currency towards buying a stock of the teething rings from Earth. "I could put the profits towards a fund for Aki' future," he considered the prospect. "I'll write a letter to Dr Beckett about it," he decided.
Actually, he'd already started a letter to the Earth Healer thanking him for the gift, but he'd written it right in the middle of the night after Aki had fallen asleep so easily, so he was pretty sure it had been far too emotionally gushing. He'd rewrite it and add some queries about possibly trading for more of the teething rings.
"Are you contacting Atlantis again today?" He asked Emmagan. "I've not had time to read any of the update reports today," he added.
"Yes, we are awaiting their message back regarding this morning's latest stance on the contract details," Emmagan replied with a light sigh.
"I thought you would be more than happy to see your husband," Massa asked with a smile.
He was fortunate to be one of her confidantes on the subject of her true feelings for her Earth-born husband, and Halling was clearly aware of the true depth of the two's marriage. Not that Halling was the best at detecting such things, as he'd only recently found out about Nalla's long held affection for him, and was clearly still struggling with the discovery. Honestly, Massa despaired at some of his fellow Elite's inability to comprehend love. Though, Emmagan was clearly now on his side, having found true love of her own.
She gave him a sideways barely suppressed smile. "Hopefully he will be there when we speak with them. I can send through your message though. My Honoured Husband sent through a new jigsaw game for Oneakka when they sent through those teething rings yesterday, so I am already ordered to pass on Oneakka's thanks."
"He's back ordering us all around again," Massa grinned.
"Did he stop?" Emmagan asked, but then seemed to regret her joke. "His recovery continues to be inspiring. I walked with him to his session at the Rehabilitation Gym this morning," she added quickly.
"Yeah, I walked back with him from the Rehab Gym yesterday," Massa recalled, "saw the end of his session. He made me feel lazy." Though, it had worried Massa. Oneakka had a long history with pushing himself in rehab too quickly and injuring himself anew, and with him still sticking with the medication plan, the added meds were probably reducing his sensation of pain. As had possibly been proven by the fact that Oneakka had almost entirely run out of energy by the time they'd walked back to his quarters afterwards. Walking for Oneakka remained a slow process, but yesterday's walk had reduced to a near crawl by the end of it, and, once inside his quarters, Oneakka had practically collapsed onto his bed and had fallen asleep within minutes. Massa had spent the rest of his shift simply reading through the Recruit assessment reviews in preparation for his meeting today, which had turned out to be very useful study time.
"Even with his speedy recovery, he will not be close to ready for battle in time for the Sythus' departure," Halling stated the obvious from across the table.
Massa shared a look with Emmagan. "Meiyo predicted three quarters of a year for full return to battle rotation," Massa reminded Halling.
"Though considering Oneakka's speedy improvement, I suspect it could be sooner," Emmagan added. "But, I agree, no one expects him to join the Sythus for this mission."
Massa looked at Halling. It had become increasingly obvious over the last few days that Halling was questioning his own impending departure with the Sythus, feeling that he would be abandoning Oneakka during his recovery. That didn't make much sense to Massa, considering both had left the other here before during recoveries and that Oneakka no longer needed constant care. The only reason they kept the shifts going was to provide Oneakka with company and support with basic tasks such as showering, changing his bedclothes, and supervision during his slow daily walk to and from the Rehab Gym. He and Seeal could cover those duties once the Sythus left and with each day Oneakka would need less assistance anyway. However, it was clear to Massa that Halling had been deeply affected by Oneakka's recent near death.
"Oneakka won't be expecting to join the Sythus," Massa repeated the very obvious fact to Halling. "And he won't expect you to stay behind."
Halling glanced away, rubbing at the back of his neck with one hand. "I am unsure if I should lead the Skerti hunt from here still, coordinate the mission," Halling answered as his reasoning, but Massa wasn't convinced it was the full reason. Along with Halling's concerns about leaving Oneakka, was he perhaps conflicted about leaving on the Sythus mission because Nalla would be there as well?
He felt Emmagan shift next to him. "Whatever you think is best, Halling, but there are plenty of non-battle rotation warriors here to do that; including Oneakka once his medical leave ends and he will be working here in the Facility on non-battle duty initially."
"That is true," Halling considered.
"What is the latest on the Skerti search?" Massa asked as he turned Aki' teething ring to a cooler bobble for him to chew.
"Other than Koyo's contact with the Travellers last night," Halling replied, "nothing new. The other two outermost scouting parties should contact us today."
With the remaining scouting parties being well beyond the border, it took time for the relay system to get messages back into Alliance space and across the links network, still Koyo had been quick to report her discovery from the surprisingly successful contact with the Travellers. The Travellers had still not encountered anything like the Skerti, but the sudden disappearance of one of their Generational Starships had worried them enough to respond to Koyo's contact attempt. The Travellers did have some respect for Elite warriors, but Koyo was with Fleet ships, so she hadn't expected the contact to have been so successful so quickly.
The Travellers were still holding a definite grudge against the Alliance for the adaptation of their tech, and technically the Alliance was still at war with them, but there had been no direct battles for years, other than the occasional scuffle. As the Travellers had no set territory, occasional encounters did happen and not all of the Generational Starship commanders respected the Alliance's borders. Still, Koyo had been very surprised in her report at how willing to engage the Travellers were, and she had implied that, should the Alliance be able to find out what happened to the Generational ship, then it would go a great distance towards bringing the Travellers on side. Koyo had offered the Travellers all the Alliance intel on the Skerti, which had been willingly accepted. Maybe the passing years were helping to curb old bitterness, and perhaps the Alliance's continuing success against the Wraith was tempting some Traveller commanders to consider alliance again. Massa hoped so, because the Travellers would be a significant ally in the battle against the Wraith, and potentially against the Skerti as well.
"Atlantis has a good working relationship with the Travellers right?" Massa asked Emmagan.
"Mainly through one Commander only," she replied, her expression dimming slightly. Mmmm, here was a story behind that look. "They had already reported to Atlantis that they had not encountered the Skerti."
"Still, their willingness to answer our contact call is a good sign, and perhaps our new contract with Atlantis is proving positive for them," Halling put in.
"Hopefully," Emmagan nodded, but she was looking away towards the food selection. Massa looked round to see that Aedii had arrived and was picking up a tray to select his Midday meal. Aedii had volunteered to lead the trading discussions with Atlantis, with Emmagan working alongside him. It was felt that more non-battle rotation Elite needed to develop a working relationship with Atlantis, especially with Emmagan soon to leave on the Sythus, and Aedii was one of their best at strategy projection.
Emmagan looked back round to Massa and reached out to gently stroke the top of Aki' head again. "I need to join Aedii to discuss the latest part of the negotiation."
"How's it going?" Massa asked.
"I believe that we are almost there," she reported. "Atlantis wants to clearly define the protected territory we are asking them to establish in their region of the galaxy, and there are further details on the role they are to take on its maintenance and future expansion."
"And the viral weapon?" Massa asked, he remembered there had been something in particular about that in yesterday's report.
"They are agreeing to our working on the viral weapon in Atlantis, but they have some concerns on the deployment of the weapon and wish that any instance of its use be only via a joint mission with us."
"They don't want us taking the viral tech," Massa interpreted.
Emmagan nodded. She was definitely looking more tired than he had seen her in awhile. "It seems that they have some past experience with more advanced alien species technology getting into the wrong hands, and it is of concern to them."
She dropped her attention to Aki. "Have a good day, Little Warrior," she said softly down to him before looking back up to Massa. "If I do not see you later today, I shall be back here tomorrow," she reported.
"I will drop by for at least the scheduled Portal dial out to Atlantis later," Halling told her as she rose up from her seat.
"I shall see you then," she agreed as she looked off towards where Aedii had collected his food and was clearly waiting for her to join him to leave. "Good day and," she smiled at Massa, "send me the letter you wish sent to Dr Beckett."
"I will," he promised as she headed away.
She was walking normally and looked her normal self from a distance. He looked back round, only to notice that she had left much of her Midday meal untouched.
He looked to Halling. "Does she seem okay to you?"
Halling frowned. "A little tired perhaps," he agreed. "It is likely that the negotiations with Atlantis are taking a lot out of her."
Maybe. Or, he had to wonder, was it the imminent departure of the Sythus? Was she worrying about being away from her husband? Massa could remember the times he had been assigned away from Mera, that he'd often lose his appetite for a day or so until the mission filled his focus.
"How's the Sythus doing?" He asked next.
"They are planning to leave dock and test the engine tomorrow. You really need to read your daily reports," Halling smiled at him.
"I've been busy with the Recruit assessments and," he hadn't mentioned this yet, "the other trainers want me to become a Recruit Tutor." It would mean he would have a specific group of Recruits to monitor and be point of support, encouragement, and discipline. He would still have specific modules to teach as he was currently, but being a tutor would require far more of his time and energy, and he wasn't sure he had that right now.
"That's an excellent idea," Halling smiled, clearly all in favour of the plan.
"I haven't been teaching that long, it seems too soon, and Aki is still young."
"Massa you have long years of battle experience and clearly you are a good teacher, how can it be too soon?" Halling asked.
Massa wasn't so sure. "That may not be the real reason," he shared his theory. "I think the others want me to take on some of the more difficult Recruits in hopes that my," he winced, "reputation will help them focus."
Halling let out a loud laugh.
"What?" Massa asked, shocked at Halling's reaction.
"Reputation because you, Oneakka and Kane used to be 'difficult' Recruits," Halling chuckled. "Now you'll be on the other end of that."
"No," Massa corrected him. "I mean, because," he glanced worriedly down at Aki even though his son surely couldn't understand him, "because I was the one that defeated Iketani," he explained with a lowered voice.
Halling's smile dropped a little, but Massa could still see it brightening his friend's eyes. "I suspect the other trainers remember what you were like as a Recruit and see that as experience to tap. Plus it is well known that you are a skilled but caring warrior. I have no doubt that you can help some of the more 'difficult' Recruits."
Massa was touched at the comments, but he'd heard whispers between the Recruits and he knew he held a certain reputation among them for Iketani' killing. A hero worship that he felt very uncomfortable about, and even less so at exploiting. It felt oddly painful to hear the whispers, not because he regretted his actions, but because of the clear excited joy in the Recruit's voices when the reality had been a traumatic grief-filled time in Massa's life. He had never killed another Human before, though he had severely injured Wraith Worshippers in the past, and he still had nightmares of the moment when he had stabbed up into Iketani' heart, of her dying face and her whispered last words only he had heard. Every day he lived with that memory, of his beloved and their unborn young she had taken from him, and the fact that he will one day have tell Aki of her and of his part in her death.
"Your reputation among the Recruits, if it is because of Iketani, can only help those wayward Recruits to listen to you," Halling added, cutting through Massa's dark memories.
Massa glanced down at Aki, to see that his boy had fallen asleep, the teething ring resting against his lips. He was so precious and vulnerable, and meant so much to Massa that he worried everyday that something might happen to him. Even here in a safe, heavily fortified and protected military base, he worried over Aki' safety. That Aki could be killed in an instant just as Mera and their unborn babe had been. Perhaps it was that fear that was the true reason behind his reluctance to spend more time away from Aki, even within the safety of the Facility?
"It will mean more work for me," he considered out loud.
"There are plenty to help care for Aki here, and he is used to spending whole days sometimes in the infant care. He will make friends there and the care staff will be helping teach him as he grows older," Halling pointed out logically.
"That is true," Massa nodded. A pleasing thought struck him as he smiled at his boy. "Oneakka will be here for awhile too, he's good at looking after him." Even in his current weakened state, Massa had no doubt that Oneakka would defend Aki with his life.
He looked up at Halling with a grateful smile.
"Actually it may be some much needed distraction for Oneakka when we all leave on the Sythus," Halling considered. Ah, he'd included himself in the mission there.
Massa nodded, though his attention was briefly drawn away over Halling's shoulder where he saw a security staff member looking in his direction, but then the man looked away. Probably nothing.
"Speaking of..." Massa said, "What does Seeal call him again?"
"Big stubborn oaf," Halling replied with a faint smile.
"Speaking of the big stubborn oaf, he's clearly overdoing it in the Rehab Gym."
Halling nodded. Good, he'd noticed as well.
"Maybe we should ask Seeal to say something to him?" Massa considered.
Halling angled his head in thought. "Maybe, but they are getting on so well of late I'm unwilling to upset that."
Wow, Halling had noticed. His insight was clearly improving. "Yes, they have," Massa agreed. "No fights, no arguments."
"I wouldn't go that far," Halling disagreed. "They still bicker over everything."
"There's playful bickering and proper arguing, and the bickering is fine, they enjoy it."
The security staff member was in view again over Halling's shoulder and was now clearly heading towards them, but he was a familiar face to Massa. Smee was a long serving security member, originally recruited from the Fleet's security staff to work for the Elite within the Alliance, but since Iketani' betrayal, he had been reassigned to the Facility at the request of Maja and Edfu. An investigator with an impressive track record in dealing with crimes within the military ranks, Smee's experience had been employed to provide security for not just the Recruits in training, but also the Project teams and the Facility's own staff. However, Massa interacted with him a great deal because Smee usually sat as the security representative in the monthly Recruit review meetings and often reported significant 'incidents' among the Recruits. He was a reliable, calm, and charismatic man with a good sense of humour.
Still it was unusual for a security member to approach Massa during his off hours, but perhaps there had been a significant Recruit incident this morning he hadn't heard about yet.
Halling had noticed something was happening and looked round as Smee arrived at the end of their table.
"Good day, Honoured Elite," Smee smiled politely. "Could I briefly interrupt your meal for a moment?"
"Recruits?" Massa predicted.
"No, actually," Smee smiled. "For a change, it is not about them. I was wondering if I could speak with you about something else."
Massa frowned. Had Smee found something worrying regarding security? Surely he would have reported something like that directly to Maja and Edfu? Unless he was worried about his immediate chain of command?
"It is something of a personal nature," Smee added, and Massa felt his entire body relax. He'd started imagining the ever smiling and cheerful Edfu turning out to be an evil traitor!
Personal nature? Massa was intrigued, and had to wonder if Smee was reconsidering his position here at the Facility? Perhaps he wanted advice on his career?
"Of course," Massa indicated the chair at the end of the table in front of Smee. "Join us."
Smee smiled as he sat down, and he leaned both his forearms onto the table his hands clasped together, just like he did in meetings. "This is something that I would not want shared," he noted.
Massa nodded.
"Of course," Halling agreed. Massa could tell that Halling was equally as curious at what this was going to be about.
Smee nodded his gratitude at the promise. "There are some rumours within the Facility that I wanted to ask you about directly."
Rumours were hardly new here, but if there was something incorrect or worrying circulating the staff, then it was good that Smee had brought it to their attention.
"About staff member Seeal," Smee continued. This was about Seeal? Were people still doubting her allegiance? He had gotten the impression that the resistance to her being here had all but vanished following her role in defeating the Skerti Queen, which all in the Facility had seen on Halling's re-enactment.
"And Honoured Elite Oneakka," Smee added.
Oh.
Interesting.
Theories turned in Massa's head.
"While other rumours disagree," Smee continued, but his eyes were mainly on Massa now and Massa suspected he'd shown more of a reaction than he'd intended. "So, I wanted to ask you, as close colleagues of Honoured Elite Oneakka, whether you might be able to confirm whether there is any truth in the rumours?"
Massa turned in his seat, careful not to disturb Aki out of his nap, so he could face Smee more directly. "Would I be right in guessing that you're perhaps interested in the rumours being wrong about the two of them?" Massa asked.
Smee glanced aside a little. "I have worked alongside staff member Seeal a few times, and was thinking of asking her to share a meal, but I would never wish to step onto ground that might be...unsafe."
Massa almost laughed at the description, but an idea was sliding into place. Halling shifted slightly in his seat, perhaps about to jump in with an answer, so Massa quickly answered first.
"If your question is whether Seeal and Honoured Elite Oneakka are lovers," Massa set out clearly, "then we can confirm that those rumours are definitely not true."
Smee looked noticeably pleased at the answer as he nodded.
"Though," Massa added, "I've heard rumours of my own that there are some other males who are looking to invite her to 'share a meal', so, if I were you, I'd not hold off too long."
Massa saw Halling look at him, but Massa kept his attention on Smee.
"Thank you for the intel, Honoured Elite," Smee nodded as he stood back up from his chair. "Thank you both for your time."
"Any time, Smee," Massa smiled as the security man walked away.
This was going to be very interesting.
Grinning to himself, Massa sat back properly in his seat and checked on Aki. The boy was fast asleep, his mouth hanging partly open, the teething ring having slipped to his chest. Massa picked it up and set it on the table; he'd put it through the cleansing machine in the canteen kitchen before he left and then it could go into the chilling unit in his quarters for later.
"Massa?" Halling asked, and Massa looked up at him. "What was that?" Halling was looking at him with both eyebrows halfway up his forehead as he indicated where Smee had been sat.
"What? I was being honest," he explained.
"Who else is interested in Seeal?" Halling frowned, sounding like he thought it had been a lie.
"Edfu," Massa started the list he'd been gathering, "that gardener who helps her look after the goats, and one of the canteen servers."
Halling looked off towards the canteen kitchen set behind the food selection. "Really?"
"Plus more than a few Recruits clearly have a thing for her now after her part in helping you kill the Skerti Queen," Massa added. "And young boys love a bad girl."
Halling pulled a face at him. "She is neither 'bad' nor a 'girl'," he defended their friend.
"I meant it as their kind of description. She has an interesting dangerous past and she's highly skilled. She was a pit fighter, killed a Wraith Queen, and helped you kill the Skerti Queen. They can't help but be intrigued."
Halling appeared to be considering that.
"You've got a Recruit fan following too you know," Massa added to see how Halling would react.
"It's expected from Recruits, we did the same regarding Elite warriors when we were Recruits like them."
"I don't remember fantasising about Elite," Massa considered.
"Because you were obsessed with Mera from the moment you saw her," Halling pointed out.
"True," Massa admitted, but had to look down at Aki at the usual pull on his heart when he heard her name. Not that he wanted to ever stop talking about his beloved, but the pain was always there.
"Back to my question though," Halling added. "Why are you encouraging Smee when you've been pushing for Oneakka to admit his feelings for Seeal?"
Massa looked up from his sleeping son. "Oh, I think Oneakka's the main contender, but not if he keeps dragging his feet."
Halling frowned.
"It's not my fault if other males make their offers before he does,"
"It is your fault when you interfere," Halling argued, "because you're clearly going to tell Oneakka about this."
Massa was rather impressed that Halling had predicted his move. "It won't hurt him to know he has competition."
"You promised Smee you wouldn't tell anyone."
"Of course I'm not going to tell Oneakka its Smee. Just that a particular male has expressed interest and Oneakka needs to get his priorities sorted."
Halling leaned forward in his seat opposite. "Massa, Oneakka has made his feelings clear on this matter. Neither he or Seeal appear interested in pursuing a romantic relationship, so I think we should respect that fact."
"He's just being a stubborn oaf."
"In your opinion, don't you think it's up to Oneakka to make that decision for himself? For Seeal to do the same?"
"I'm not forcing them into anything," Massa argued. "I'm just going to make sure that Oneakka knows all the facts of the situation."
"Oneakka is not stupid, Massa. I think he is perfectly capable of reasoning that other males may be interested in Seeal. For all we know, he and Seeal may have already discussed this between them."
"Then it doesn't matter if I tell him, does it? If Oneakka's not interested, then it's just a simple waste of my own time."
Halling sighed and looked up to the ceiling. "If he punches you in the face, or somewhere more delicate, I'm not going to intervene."
"Fine. It wouldn't be the first time."
Halling shook his head, but he was smiling again. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"I know what I'm doing," Massa insisted. He could barely wait for his shift with Oneakka this afternoon. Though, he was going to have to choose just the right moment to tell Oneakka...
"Maybe Smee was just expressing interest, he may not actually invite Seeal for a meal," Halling considered.
"No, he'll make a move. Probably today if I had to put currency on it," Massa predicted. "He's got that look in his eyes."
"What look?" Halling asked.
Massa shook his head at his friend. "The one Nalla had for you for years."
Halling winced and looked away.
Massa chuckled; it was nice to have something to tease Halling with for a change.
"You're going to have to stop doing that once you're back on the Sythus and working with her again every day," Massa pointed out.
"I know. It is just awkward."
"Nalla is older than even your advanced grumpy old man years, and she's fine with the situation. It was a long time ago, everyone's moved on and you need to as well."
"It is just difficult when she can tell how I am feeling, it only adds to the awkwardness of the situation."
"It's just embarrassment, you'll get over it. Remember when I was a teenager and that time Kane tore off my trousers and underwear in that party and everyone saw every part of me?"
"No, I wasn't there," Halling answer. "Fortunately," he added with a smile.
"It was years ago, I don't care about it anymore."
"You are still talking about it though."
"Because it's funny now, years later. Give this a few years, and you'll just smile at how stupidly blind you'd been all those years."
"I'm not sure you are helping here, Massa."
Massa grinned, but looked down as he felt Aki stirring awake in his arms. He smiled down at his boy, who was blinking confused sleepy lashes at him.
"Hello my Little Warrior," Massa said softly to him. "I think it's time we get your teething ring cleaned and head back home. Then we're going to go visit Uncle Oneakka." Aki made a small smile, probably recognising various interesting words in that sentence. "And," Massa continued, "we're going to help Uncle Oneakka stop being such a stubborn idiot."
Aki grinned up at him.
"See," Massa looked at Halling, "Aki agrees with me."
Halling just shook his head and started clearing up their table, reaching for Emmagan's abandoned food.
Whatever, Massa was going to at least try to get Oneakka to see reason, and if the man decided to keep being an idiot, well, at least Massa had tried to help.
00000
TBC