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He made his way to the row she was working on. “Sure, what’s up?”
“Scan this and tell me what you get.”
Puzzled he raised his eyebrows but she didn’t give him any other hints. He stepped closer, peered at the label long enough to see it wasn’t written in Basic and then ran his scanner over it. There was a harsh beep and a red light flashed. Pulling the device back, he read the report. “Possible contraband? Were these guys smuggling?”
“Who knows? Scan it again,” she said.
He did as she requested and this time the response was even more dramatic. “Unknown items, unknown provenance, possibly dangerous…wow, we hit some kind of jackpot here. We’re not opening it.”
“Agreed.” She seemed relieved he didn’t want to pursue the issue. “We can tag it. Now check the next one.”
Theo moved over and did a doubletake. “What the seven hells? This isn’t a standard cargo bin.” He ran his hand over the smooth green surface, surprised to find it warm to his touch. The longer he remained in contact with the container, the more sensations he received, as if the substance was pulsating. Flashing lights appeared in his vision and he tried to pull his hand away but it was as if he’d touched a sticky trap.
Jayna grabbed his shoulder and yanked him away from the container and they fell to the deck, awkwardly sprawled together. “Are you okay?”
He tried to catch his breath as he examined his fingertips, which were bleeding. “Lost some skin.”
Jayna rose to her feet and helped him up. “Sorry. The way you were reacting to the contact I was afraid you were in trouble.”
“I’d better get to the medbay and stop this bleeding,” he said. “Thanks for getting me loose. I think we’re done for the day here.” His legs were shaky and Jayna had to offer her support as they hiked to the entrance and exited. “Do you suppose this is part of the problem that caused the ship to become a derelict?” he said as they made their way to the small medical facility. “A pretty dangerous item to stick in the cargo bay with no warning labels or handling instructions.”
“There were more of them further down the row,” she said. “And, Theo? My scanner read some of them as living tissue.”
Despite the pain in his hand, he stopped to stare at her. “I’d say impossible but considering the circumstances for our being here on board the Mebsuta C, we can’t rule out even the most bizarre things.” As they resumed their walk to the medbay, he added, “I don’t want anyone else going into the cargo hold. I’m not even sure we should go there.”
“But we need a full inventory,” Jayna said. “And even the Nebula Zephyr carries alien cargo at times. The cargo master doesn’t like it but for an exorbitant price he’ll transship it. I mean, it does happen. And an outfit this small probably couldn’t refuse whatever the shipper was offering. My read here is this crew was operating on a thin margin.”
“All true,” Theo admitted as they entered the small medical facility. “But then they went missing and I’m not planning to have the same thing happen to us. So no one in the cargo area but you and me.”
Jayna scanned the facility briefly. “This is primitive. And no medical AI. Take a seat on the exam table and I’ll see what I can find to treat your fingers.”
He obliged, grabbing a small, folded towel to press against the sluggishly bleeding areas. “I’ve made a mess all right.”
She came back to him carrying an assortment of devices. “The ship does have a janitorial robo, antiquated though it may be. I’ll send it to clean the corridor after we’re through here. Do you need a painkiller?”
“No go ahead and get this sealed up.”
“It’ll sting.” With the warning she daubed his injured fingers with what he guessed was an antiseptic and then two other things, all of which hurt like splinters going under his nails, but as the final step she applied sealant skin and the pain subsided from one breath to the next.
He examined his digits, which were bright green now, thanks to the faux skin. “Good job. I didn’t figure you for a medic.”
She shook her head as she disposed of the leftovers. “Seven hells no, I was tip of the spear, an operator. My team only pulled the most high-risk assignments, inside and outside the fence. Ten years on the teams in hot zones, a girl picks up a few medical tips, trust me. Lucky for you these med supplies were in stasis until I opened the lids. They’re a few hundred years past the expiration date otherwise.”
“I’m grateful.” Flexing his fingers, he got off the table. Jayna’s touch had been professional but her proximity had had the usual effect on him, desire and longing mixed in his mind and body. She was intoxicating to him on so many levels and so aloof and reserved everywhere but the bedroom. As she preceded him out of the medbay he thought back to the volleyball game and its aftermath and ground his teeth over the reality they’d not been able to forge a more than physical connection despite his best efforts. He wished he knew what barriers she was holding against further involvement as more than partners in bed. She certainly seemed to like him.
“Captain, we got a message from the Nebula Zephyr,” Turner announced on the subaural commlink.
Theo and Jayna exchanged glances and double-timed it to the bridge. He sat in the captain’s chair as she went to one of the tech stations. “Did they drop out of hyperspace to send it, Turner?”
“No, sir. Maeve sent it to us personally. Shall I play the message for you?”
“Please.” He was surprised the bigger ship’s AI had taken the initiative to send him a communication and had used the top secret transmission device to do so. The fact the Nebula Zephyr could send and receive messages while in hyperspace was a closely guarded secret. Only Space Navy vessels had that capability, or so he’d believed before shipping out on the cruise liner. Of course Maeve had formerly been the AI for a battleship and retained her military mindset to a surprising degree. Personally he found it comforting, being ex-Space Navy himself.
Turner flipped a switch and a placeholder holo of the Nebula Zephyr popped up. Maeve had no other avatar as far as Theo was aware. “Captain Knox, I’ve been researching the Mebsuta C in various interstellar shipping databases and registries. She was commissioned 750 years ago on a remote world known as Jackjorine Six. I thought you might like to see the owner/operator and his family. I’ll continue to look for more information to assist you. Captain Fleming sends his regards. Maeve, out.”
A holo took the place of the ship’s image, rotating slowly in midair. The three people depicted were smiling and the labels Maeve had added identified the trio as Wil, Leah and Angelee Herron. The latter was a bright-eyed child, probably seven or eight, standing with her parents and clutching a colorful stuffed animal.
There was silence on the bridge. Theo cleared his throat. “I don’t know if it’s better or worse to have the original crew identified for us actually.”
