There was a soft bump as the shuttle settled into the docking bay. Jacob was grateful for the return of full gravity. It was hard to kick someone in zero gee, and he was feeling more and more like delivering such a message to the company representative’s backside.
Take it easy, he told himself. Mithun may make more in a week than you do in a year, but he’s just a glorified errand boy. You— you are the captain. Rise above the pettiness. You know what you’re capable of, and what lies ahead. Be confident in your abilities, in your knowledge, in your skills.
Be confident in the fact that it’s almost certainly too late for Weyland-Yutani to fill the position with someone else.
“It’s just that there have been some rumblings on the board.” Mithun kept talking even as they disembarked. “Most of the board is content with your appointment. So is Hideo Yutani himself, but there are some among the Weyland contingent who still feel the need to assert themselves.”
“You’re kidding,” Jacob said. “It’s all been one company for a while now. Weyland-Yutani.” He led the way out into a major corridor. “I thought that sort of nonsense was over and done with.”
“Corporate takeovers are never easy,” Mithun explained. “Most who survive such mergers quickly resign themselves to their new circumstances. But for a few, bad feelings can linger.”
Beginning to feel a bit sorry for his companion, Jacob softened his tone. “So these few on the board, they’re questioning my competency to hold the position of captain?”
Mithun’s reply was glum. “They question everything.”
“And that’s why you’ve been sent to follow me around, to see if I implode under pressure, prior to departure.”
“That’s it, more or less.” For the first time since the shuttle had lifted off, an honest smile creased the narrow face of the company rep. As it did, two stevedores escorting a large autonomous pallet of supplies forced them to hug one side of the corridor. Then they continued at a casual pace. The lighting within the Covenant was bright yet soft, easy on the eye while leaving nothing under-illuminated.
“If you don’t mind my asking, how am I doing?” Jacob inquired as they resumed their course.
“Except for a certain inclination to sarcasm,” Mithun told him, “quite well, I am happy to say.”
“Good. I’d hate to be fired so close to departure. Of course once I’m stuck, stuffed, and packed in deepsleep, it won’t matter. Except in the case of an emergency, it’s against the law to wake a crew member or colonist from deepsleep prior to arrival at their destination.” He grinned at the representative. “I don’t think the company could get a warrant executed in time.”
This time Mithun did not smile. “I find that I almost like you, Captain,” he said, “so I will tell you something. If Weyland-Yutani perceives that its investment in any project—larger or small—might be threatened, there is no limit to what it can or will do to protect it.”
Halting abruptly, Jacob frowned at the smaller man. “You’re saying they could pull me from deepsleep and replace me, even at this late a stage?”
Mithun straightened all of his sixty-five kilos. “I am saying that it would be just as well for you to perform perfectly as the captain of the Covenant and not do anything that might inspire uncertainty regarding your competency, at least until the ship passes the orbit of Neptune.
“Thanks.” Jacob smiled thinly. “I’ll try to operate strictly by the book until we’re under way.”
“I appreciate that,” Mithun replied, “as it will not only be better for you, but will also greatly simplify my reports.”
“Whose reports?”
Both men turned as Daniels approached. Though she was slightly overwhelmed by the final preparations for departure, Jacob’s wife and the Covenant’s supercargo and terraforming supervisor wore the quiet, intense look that had so impressed Weyland-Yutani’s personnel. While shorter than both men, she managed to give the impression of being much taller than she was. An inescapable air of competency clung to her that, according to Mithun at least, managed to evade her husband.
While Jacob had fought to acquire the position of captain through a rigorous barrage of tests, Daniels had sailed through the necessary requirements far more swiftly. It had never bothered him, however, that since couples were preferred to crew the colony ship, he might have slipped in as captain because of his wife’s unexcelled qualifications. They were both thoroughly qualified, he knew. The difference between them might be as simple as her not being as… well, as flighty as her husband.
They didn’t kiss in front of Mithun. Intimacies among crew couples were reserved for moments of privacy. Besides, there was no time.
“My reports.” The company rep was apologetic.
Jacob grinned at his wife as he nodded toward the company man. “Mr. Mithun here has been assigned to shadow me for a while. To make sure I’m not likely to do anything crazy, once we’re on our way. Or worse, anything flighty.”
Swiveling her dark-eyed gaze on the Weyland-Yutani representative, Daniels didn’t miss a beat. She spoke with the quiet intensity for which she was already well known among both the crew and the army of workers engaged in preparing the ship for its mission.
“Better watch him closely,” she said with a straight face. “He’s crazy flighty. Or flighty crazy. I’ve had to deal with it for years.” Before Mithun could comment she added, “He’s also the best-qualified colony ship captain Weyland-Yutani could possibly find. You can take it from me.”
Jacob smiled affectionately at his wife. “You’re prejudiced.”
“Damn right I am. The company’s lucky to have you. I’m lucky to have you. You’re lucky to have me.”
“And if I am lucky,” Mithun added, doing his best to loosen up, “I will be back on solid ground in a couple of days, free from these oppressive if brightly lit surroundings, and assured of stable earth under my feet and an atmosphere whose composition is not artificially renewed.”
Jacob nodded sympathetically, also relaxing a bit. “All right then. Let’s get you run through your assigned checkouts. If we move fast, maybe we can even fit you on the next empty cargo shuttle going back to the surface.”
The company representative’s eagerness was palpable. “I will happily travel as cargo. If necessary, you can stick me in a box. I freely confess that I don’t like space. It is dark, lethal, and wholly uninviting.”
Daniels concealed her expression as she replied. “You’d make a lousy colonist.”
“‘Colonist’…” Mithun shuddered visibly at the thought.
II
Continuing their impromptu inspection, the three were joined by Mithun’s colleague, Lykke Kajsa. Save for being far more deficient in melanin and half a dozen centimeters taller, she was the female equivalent of her newly arrived corporate representative. While it was Mithun’s responsibility to evaluate the performance of the Covenant’s crew, she was tasked with inspecting the ship itself.
As Jacob and Daniels discussed details of the pre-departure progress and problems, Kajsa supplemented the captain and supercargo’s comments with a steady stream of numbers, dates, and interpretations. The inescapable conclusion, which pleased all concerned, was that everything was proceeding more or less as intended and according to schedule.
Daniels was the officer in charge of stores, stocks, and all ship’s supplies both for the journey and for the eventual establishment of the colony on Origae-6. There was one nagging crew-related omission that she felt compelled to point out to the two company representatives. She did so as the quartet continued along a hallway while striving to avoid the steady flow of cargo shifters, equipment installers, electricians, line routers, and arriving colonists.