Taking Wing - Michael A. Martin [132]
Ogawa tapped her son on the shoulder. “Noah, I thought I taught you to be more polite than that.”
Noah sighed dramatically and held out his hand. “Thank you for the candy, Aunt Bralik.” She deposited a hard bar of a translucent, greenish substance in his hand. He sniffed at it tentatively. “What is it?”
“Slug Slime,” Bralik said, smiling. “Now why don’t you go get Auntie Bralik some water, and she’ll forget your lapse in manners.”
As soon as Noah had scampered out of the room, Ogawa asked, “What was that?”
Bralik shrugged. “Slug Slime? I don’t have any idea what’s in it. But grubs of all species seem to like it.”
Ogawa snorted as Bralik sat on the chair that Noah had vacated, bringing herself level with the biobed where Ranul Keru lay.
“How is the furball, really?” Bralik asked, putting her hand on Ranul’s, atop his chest.
“We were able to get the tool out of his chest without causing much additional damage,” Ogawa said. “But he also sustained a significant head injury during the collision. There’s a good deal of brain swelling. We don’t know when he’ll wake up.”
Bralik squinted back at her. “There’s not a question of if he’ll wake up, is there?”
Ogawa sighed, but didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to admit, either aloud or even in her own mind, the possibility that Keru might die. He’d become a great friend to her aboard the Enterprise, and a wonderful “uncle” for Noah, and their relationship had grown even stronger since they had come aboard Titan.
“That’s the spirit,” Bralik said, winking broadly and aiming her words in Keru’s direction. “He’ll definitely wake up then. It’s just a question of when.” She turned back to face Ogawa and said, “Rule Number Two-hundred and sixty-seven: If you believe it, they believe it.”
Noah returned with the glass of water he’d been sent to fetch. “Here, Aunt Bralik.”
“Thanks, grub,” Bralik said, taking it. “I’m gonna need it, since I’m going to read your Uncle Ranul a story.” With her free hand, she extracted a book from her tunic.
Noah grinned. “A pirate story?”
Bralik smiled. “Of a sort. Not for little boys, though.”
Ogawa looked at the spine of the book. She was only able to make out a few words of the title, but they were enough to tell her that it was definitely too steamy for young ears.
“Come on, Noah, we need to check in with Dr. Ree before we leave. Mommy’s had a long shift today.”
“Okay. ’Bye, Aunt Bralik. ’Bye, Uncle Ranul.” Noah left the room ahead of Ogawa.
“ ’Bye, grub,” Bralik said.
“Good night,” Ogawa said with a smile. As she exited, she heard Bralik behind her, talking to Keru.
“Now before I start this story, I’ve got to warn you that Kent will be by later, but I’ll make sure he doesn’t try to hold your hand or anything. Once you wake up, I’ll help you find a way to let him down gently. You know me. The soul of tact.”
As she walked away, Ogawa heard the sound of Bralik’s book falling to the floor, followed by the Ferengi’s soft, ragged, uncontrolled sobs.
“Are you sure you’re up to this?” Christine Vale asked.
Dr. Xin Ra-Havreii rubbed his temple. “Becoming your chief engineer? Well, some of my colleagues would undoubtedly think it beneath them. But they haven’t had quite the thrill-ride of a career that I’ve had.”
Vale sat on the edge of Ledrah’s desk. She still expected to see the Tiburon woman sitting there, her bluish hair spiked upward. In her place sat the middle-aged Efrosian male who had designed Titan and had overseen her construction.
“I heard about what happened aboard Luna,” she said quietly. “But I also know you were cleared of any culpability.”
Ra-Havreii offered her a wan smile. “Cleared of all culpability is very different from being found innocent, Commander. You may not blame me, and Starfleet may not blame me, but the men and women of Utopia Planitia don’t share that magnanimity. Nor do the families of Luna’s crew.”
Or yourself, Vale thought, as Ra-Havreii lapsed once again into woolgathering.
“I’m not sure this is a good idea at all,” Vale said. “Being a starship’s chief engineer isn’t quite the same as working