Annwn felt bad at those words. She always liked to think of herself as a reasonably intelligent girl, and to have Teacher suggest otherwise shook her confidence.
“What really disappoints me is that your demonstrated learning abilities show me that you are capable of pulling things together. Think about what happened today and ask yourselves what went wrong. What can you change to handle the situation more effectively next time? I’m not here to be your guide forever—you need to learn how to cooperate with each other on your own. This is not a suggestion. It’s a task. We will discuss what you’ve discovered tomorrow.”
Annwn sighed.
“Now, before you go, you should also be aware of some homework I’ve assigned, a few extra lessons on Bode. We’re getting close to our destination, and considering your behavior during the Elara sim, you will have to catch up somehow. The relevant tutorials will be on your terminals at home.”
When, Annwn thought, will the workload end? She quickly looked around. The others, especially Wildwind, appeared no happier than she.
Everyone waited in silence for a few moments.
“That's it. You can go.”
“Yes!” exclaimed Wildwind as he jumped from his terminal and rushed from the room.
Annwn, quietly thinking about her assignments, left after Wildwind.
“I’m caught up on my homework,” said Annwn with both pride and relief. Fortunately the “think about your actions” lesson was easy, only consuming a couple of minutes.
“Ah, good,” said her father, still looking unhappy. He had been in a bad mood ever since Teacher told him about her fight in class. Annwn recalled that Teacher’s tendency to report all events to her student’s parents produced a number of nicknames among the boys, including, but certainly not limited to, “Tattler” and “Traitor.”
She took a bite out of the processed something that resembled a dinner of poultry. She usually called it “wax slab o’ protein,” referring to the time, when very young, she decided a candle was candy. The moderate chickeny flavor the dinner had kept her chewing, but left her sorely missing the fresh food of California. Starship life was a bore! Fortunately, all the things she despised about starflight would change when they reached Bode.
“And what did we learn today?” her father asked, between bites of his own sterile meal.
“Well, not as much as you’ve already told me. You know, Bode lessons.”
“So you’re covering the plants?” he asked, reflecting his deep interest in botany, a part of her father that she enjoyed.
“Yes. Two whole lessons.”
Her mother looked worried. “Aren’t they poisonous?”
“Sure are,” replied Annwn. “That was the main topic today. We can’t eat any, save for a few, and those exceptions are only edible if they are prepared correctly.”
“Keep that in mind when we get there.”
Annwn nodded, taking small bites from her food.
Looking hopeful, she asked, “Mom, since I’m done with my homework, is it OK if I go to the shuttle with my friends?”
Her mother looked agreeable, but her father spoke up before she said anything. “There’s the matter of what happened in class today, Amber.”
Annwn hated it when her father used her given name. Certainly her own choice was much more imaginative. Knowing she was not on the best terms with her parents, she said nothing about it. “I know. I overreacted. But Wildwind can get intolerable.”
“Yes, Dell gets a little carried away,” her father said. “But that does not excuse you.”
“It won’t happen again,” she said with determination, not all of which was mock. Failing to accomplish much during the Elara sims seemed a little ridiculous to her. But her friends’ happy-go-lucky approach to assigned tasks was frightfully contagious.
Her father rubbed his chin, “Haven’t I heard that before?”
Annwn looked guilty, lowering her eyes to the half-eaten meal in front of her. “I promise,” she said gently. “I’ll do my best.”
“You’ll do more than your best. You’ll behave.” Her father paused, apparently thinking on the topic a little more. “You can go. However, such behavior had better not happen again, or your shuttle visits will end.”
“Thanks!” She smiled.
“Yes, well, I might suggest you discuss with your friends how you guys can work together.”
Thinking about all the upcoming fun, Annwn barely heard her father's comment. She stood up to leave.
“Those shuttle visits are becoming quite regular, aren’t they?” her mother asked as she took her first step from the table. “You’re sure it’s OK?”
Turning around, Annwn said, “Yes, Mom. We asked the engineer. He said as long as we kept the shuttle doors open and stayed out of the bridge, we could use the shuttle for our SCA stuff. We’re always careful.”
“Those shuttles are powerful machines, and I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“We won’t get hurt.”
She gave Annwn her serious “I’m concerned about your welfare” look. “Just be careful.”
“No problem. ” Annwn turned and walked briskly from the table, happy to be heading away to her hideout, the shuttle. She always felt free away from her parents.
“And don’t be late for sleep,” called her mother.
“Yes, Milady. Please stand aside as I defend your honor against the evil and most sinister of black knights.” Annwn smiled and stepped back, sitting in one of the few acceleration chairs available in the shuttle’s small secondary cargo bay. Daytime crew were fitting the primary bay for their descent to Bode, their efforts hidden behind securely locked doors, so Annwn and her companions could no longer play inside the larger space.
Kwazar turned around and moved toward Wildwind, who was dressed rather menacingly as the Black Knight. Kwazar’s makeshift armor squeaked and clanked with his strides. He held his bamboo sword ready—the Society for Creative Anachronism might frown on such weapons material, but they hadn’t been able to find rattan locally.
Miranda stood between them, looking small and frail by comparison. She held a staff ready, keeping the knights in check by holding the long pole between them. As Marshall, she made sure the warriors fought honorably.
“Come, Black Knight,” chided “Sir” Kwazar, “fight, or run away like some mere pansy!”
“Pansy, you called me!” echoed Wildwind’s deep voice from the black can that served as his “helmet.” He had somehow managed to sneak into the machine shop and weld small horns on each side. “No one calls the Black Knight a pansy and gets away alive!” Wildwind readied his sword and stepped forward. “None shall pass,” he said, carrying on a sickly cliche tradition that had persisted since nearly the beginning of the SCA in the twentieth century.
Annwn preferred these times to all others with her friends. Wildwind was actually tolerable during their playacting, and at actual SCA events, as if he somehow left a piece of himself behind. Though she wasn’t all that sure about her assessment, since only one actual SCA event had been held on ship, right at the beginning of their trip, just before sleep. Maybe the cryogenics changed him… but probably not, for he still acted decent during their play events. Kwazar, always being nice—sometimes too nice—contrasted sharply with Wildwind, and the friendship between the two boys amazed her. Despite his niceness, Kwazar made a great knight. While the boys thought in terms of armor, she and Miranda liked to dress period-style, putting on vast layers of garb, draping their bodies in heavy cloaks. Currently she wore her favorite azure knee-length tunic, with a trim of glittering argent, dark gray trousers, her heaviest gray cloak, and a sable belt around her waist, with the long tip hanging to her lightly shod feet.