Expendable - James Alan Gardner [5]
“Sorry,” she said. “My mind was somewhere else.” She turned back for one more wistful peek at the night. “I can never get over how beautiful the stars are.”
I did not point out that the view was a color-enhanced computer simulation. A real window would have jeopardized the integrity of the ship’s hull.
The News
We sat in our usual chairs (me on the captain’s right, Yarrun on her left), and rolled up to the conference table.
“Would either of you like coffee?” the captain asked. We shook our heads in unison. “You’re sure? Some fruit juice maybe? No? Well, I hope you don’t mind if I have a little something. I always enjoy a midnight snack.”
She smiled in our general direction, but her eyes were too low to meet ours. Like most people, she could not look at our faces for any length of time. She talked to our chests or our hair or our ears…never to our faces, except for a quick glance now and then to confirm her squeamishness.
For some reason, she thought Yarrun and I didn’t notice.
We watched as she poured herself coffee. In public, she drank it black. When she thought no one was watching, she used double loads of cream and sugar.
For a few moments, she stirred her coffee, even though there was nothing in it. I couldn’t tell if this was reflex or affectation. Finally she said, “I suppose you’re wondering what this is all about.”
She paused, so we nodded.
“Twenty minutes ago,” Prope continued, “I received a coded message from the Golden Cedar. You know the ship?”
“Admiral Chee’s flagship,” I replied. Everyone in the Fleet knew the ship. Half the children in the Technocracy had heard of it. Learning the names of the admirals and their flagships was a Common Curriculum memory exercise for seven-year-olds.
“In three hours, the Golden Cedar will pass within ten thousand kilometers of us.” Prope was watching us out of the corner of her eye, so I knew she was about to drop a surprise in our laps. “At that time, Admiral Chee will secretly transfer aboard the Jacaranda. Very secretly—we three and Harque will be the only ones to know he’s here. You two will see to the admiral’s comfort.” She looked at us with narrowed eyes, as if she doubted we could handle the job. “Any problems?”
“We’ll take care of him.” I kept my voice expressionless, despite the insult. I had been capably dealing with visiting dignitaries for six full years on the Jacaranda—it was one of my standing duties. As high-ranking officers with no shipboard responsibility, Explorers were ideal for babysitting VIPs. VIPs were either aliens who didn’t care what we looked like or self-centered diplomats who didn’t notice.
“Fine.” Prope obviously felt she ought to say something more, but couldn’t think of anything. She remembered her coffee and took a deep grateful swallow. Judging by the resulting expression on her face, the coffee was too hot.
Yarrun asked, “Do you know why the admiral is coming?”
“He’ll tell us when he arrives. All I know is that it’s not an inspection.” She gave another standardized laugh, but this time it was strained with nervousness. “My orders say that if I give the slightest hint I’m waiting for inspection—if I sharpen up discipline, hold drills, even swab the decks—I’ll be put on report.”
She drummed her fingers on the table. None of us said anything for a count of ten.
“It certainly sounds like an inspection,” I finally said.
Prope nodded. “Damned right.”
My First Admiral
Back in my cabin, I debated staying awake for three more hours (in which case I would be tired when the admiral arrived) or going to sleep for a while (in which case I would be groggy). I decided to lie on my Luxuriator bed and see what happened.
Staring at the asbestos white of my ceiling, I thought about the first admiral I had met, Admiral Seele. She was not the first admiral I had seen in person—more than a dozen admirals attended graduation exercises for my class at the Academy. The Admiralty always made a show of being interested in Explorers. The school administrators even said the admirals would be available afterwards to shake hands