The Devil's Heart - Carmen Carter [15]
“No,” he said, turning to face his inquisitor.
“You look very lost.” The woman was dressed in a rumpled blue jumpsuit, but he noticed the row of captain’s pips on the collar. They weren’t Starfleet design, so she was in charge of a civilian ship, possibly a freighter.
“I know where I am now,” said Jiak, mustering a bravado he did not feel, “and I know where I’m going next, so I don’t see how I could be lost.”
Her hand darted upward to tuck a stray wisp of her hair back into place. It was a futile effort; the twisted braid she wore was bristling with errant curls. “So where are you going?”
His final destination was none of her business, yet the young man was grateful for her concern, even if it was rather roughly expressed. Jiak compromised by revealing an intermediate stop.
“Well, as it happens, I’m on my way to Davenport V.”
The captain snorted derisively at his answer. “And have you already got a ticket?”
He shook his head. “I need to buy one now.
I’d be in your debt if you could show me where to—” “It’s not a big tourist spot and that means top rates.” Then she quoted the price of passage to that distant world.
The cost was staggeringly high. Jiak had been sure his spending allowance for the first term would cover all his travel expenses, but instead this one ticket would wipe out the entire allotment on his credit chip. He would be left with no funds for the final leg of his journey from Davenport to DiWahn.
His dismay must have been obvious, because the woman sighed heavily. “Go back home, kid.”
“I’m not a kid, and I’ll find another way to get there.” He would have to find it soon. In another few days his mother and father would learn that he had never reached Earth and would begin to trace his steps. They had no authority to stop him now that he was of age, but Jiak wanted to escape their pleas for him to return to the comforting familiarity of Redifer.
As if she had been reading his thoughts, the woman said, “I guess you’re too old to be running away from home, but you’re still young enough to have stardust in your eyes. That won’t last long on my ship.”
“What did you say?” asked Jiak.
“The name is Captain Del,” she snapped, “and I’m not offering you a glamorous job. Some kids expect a joyride through space, but you’ll work damn hard for your berth.”
“I don’t want glamour, just free passage off this starbase.”
“As long as you remember that, we’ll get along fine.” Del jabbed a finger at the bundle by his feet. “Is that all your freight?”
“Yes. I travel light.”
“Good.” She smiled her approval at this evidence of thrift. “Come on, then. Don’t dally. I have a tight delivery schedule.”
Still too startled to fully grasp his good fortune, Jiak hoisted the backpack into place and trotted after Del.
In truth, he hadn’t had time to retrieve the rest of his luggage from the passenger liner, and those heavy cases were on their way to Earth by now. With careful tending, however, he could make do with the one change of clothing he carried with him.
His only other remaining possession, the one that weighed most heavily on his shoulders, was a copy of T’Sara’s Legends of the Iconian Diaspora.
CHAPTER 5
Even from his position at an aft station console, Data easily followed the overlapping exchange between Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher.
“I’m sorry, Captain, but there has been no change in her—” “What about the—” “The autopsy reports are still being—” “Let me know as soon as you have anything to report.”
Data noted the way in which the two officers consistently anticipated the next request for information. Humans persisted in this curious behavior even though his own observations indicated that it often led to misunderstandings.
Data heard the captain’s chair creak ever so softly as Picard’s weight was lifted from the cushions. With his acute senses, the android easily followed the sound of Picard’s distinctive tread as he moved up a side ramp to the elevated deck. He walked to a spot just behind Data’s chair and stopped.
“Yes, Captain?” Data turned around, thus observing the cultural dictate of face-to-face