The Brave and the Bold Book Two - Keith R. A. DeCandido [74]
“You have the bridge, Toq. I will be with the captain.”
Toq’s head was pounding when Tereth walked up behind him.
“Lieutenant, why are you still here?”
Toq looked around the bridge. He was currently sitting at one of the two science consoles, taking advantage of its ability to do more in-depth study than the more general applications of his operations station. Ironically, it was the same post on the bridge that he had served at when he came on board the Gorkon—and from which he warned the second officer, Lieutenant Kegren, that there might be an explosive device in the debris of a Breen ship. Kegren ignored this warning, and the ship was almost destroyed by such an explosive. Toq challenged Kegren, with Klag’s support, and defeated him; Klag rewarded him with the post of second officer.
As he looked around, he realized that none of the same people were on the bridge anymore—aside from himself and Tereth. He checked his chronometer and saw that his shift had ended almost half an hour earlier. Since he had been in charge of the bridge, he should have noticed that. And, for that matter, noticed Tereth returning from the captain’s office…
“I have not yet determined what this sensor reading is, Commander,” Toq said in answer to the first officer’s question.
“And you will not if you die of starvation. You have not eaten since you came on-shift, and you are of no use if you collapse from hunger. Go eat.” Toq started to object, but Tereth didn’t give him the chance to speak. “You have been staring at those waveform patterns for over an hour, Lieutenant. You need a distraction. This is not a request.”
Tereth had an odd style of giving an order in such a way that it felt like she was doing you a service by giving it. Toq wasn’t sure how she did it, but he found himself getting up from the science console and exiting the bridge via the turbolift.
He was late for the evening meal, but since tonight was B’Elath’s turn to sing the traditional song before dinner, Toq didn’t consider that a hardship. B’Elath always sang the dreadful “Campaign at Kol’Vat,” and always sang it very badly.
She finished the song just as Toq walked in. She had ended on the tenth verse instead of singing all fifteen, which no doubt pleased all the inhabitants of the mess hall.
Toq grabbed a plate of pipius claw and bregit lung, then tossed some gagh into a bowl, grabbed a mug and poured it only half full of bloodwine—he was going right back on duty after dinner—and went to sit with Rodek and Vralk.
As he sat, Toq asked, “Why do we keep letting that woman massacre that awful song?”
“You mean she has done that before?” Vralk asked with revulsion.
Rodek nodded. “Many times.”
“And she has not been killed to spare our ears the damage?”
Toq laughed at the young pilot. “Not yet, no.”
“I do not know if you’ve noticed, Toq,” Rodek said, “but every time she sings before dinner, the next day we are victorious in battle.”
Frowning, Toq said, “That is ridiculous.”
“It is the truth.” Rodek ate a piece of skull stew, but kept talking as he chewed. “The first time she sang was the night before we arrived at taD and destroyed those rebel ships. The second time, we engaged those marauders on Galtra the following day. The third—”
“You are right,” Toq said, as he thought back on their missions. Then he smiled. “No doubt it is better to die gloriously than to risk hearing her sing again.” All three shared a laugh at that, though Toq noticed that Vralk’s laugh was strained. “I suppose that bodes well for my abilities.”
Swallowing his bok-rat liver, Vralk asked, “How?”
“I will soon determine who our foe is, and we shall defeat them tomorrow.”
“So you haven’t unlocked the secrets of the sensor reading?” Rodek asked before sipping his own mug of bloodwine.
“No,” Toq said with annoyance. “Commander Tereth ordered me to get dinner.”
Muttering into his liver, Vralk said, “That is all she does is give orders.”
Rodek barked a laugh. “She is the first officer, fool. Giving orders is