Medics arrived seconds later and carried Collins away, while the remaining bridge crew gawked at Williams and waited for their next commands amidst awkward silence. Only, he didn’t know what else to tell them. He was an explorer, not a battleship captain nor the captain of the ship, just the first officer, a newly promoted one at that. Experience was the key, the key he left back at Earth.
“EVE, are you OK controlling the ship until repairs are made?” he asked.
“Of course, Commander,” EVE said.
“All right, everyone,” Williams said, addressing the skeleton bridge crew. “We had an interesting day, relax while the damage control team does their thing.”
It was all he had to offer. The bridge was in no condition for operations until repairs were made. He placed EVE in control of all bridge operational functions until further notice and took his leave along with the rest of the crew while Rivera and her team came up to start repairs.
ESRS CARL SAGAN, Sickbay
Exiting Sirius B system
May 19, 2050, 11:56 SST (Sol Standard Time)
Williams entered the sickbay which was located on the habitat ring where Collins had been transferred. To his relief there was only one medical bed occupied, and it was Collins, nobody else was injured during the battle. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Irena Kostelecky stood above Collins’ bandaged body as she waved a medical scanner over his wounds and reviewed the data that outputted into a nearby computer screen.
“Commander, can I help you with something?” Dr. Kostelecky said in her eastern European accent.
Williams stepped next to her and looked at Collins closely, he was out cold. “Just checking up on him, seeing if he’s doing well.”
“Seriously?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Take a good look at him; does he look like he’s having the time of his life?”
He looked at her and her long blonde hair, puzzled by her aggressive response. “Someone is having a wonderful time,” he heckled to her.
“Hey, if you think he’s good for duty, then we’re all in trouble with you in the captain’s chair.”
“What’s with the attitude?”
“You call this attitude?” Kostelecky walked over to a cabinet while her white IESA lab coat rustled behind her, the Czech Republic flag stitched to her jacket’s shoulders. She gripped a flesh regenerator tool and then returned to treat Collins wounds. “If so, you have a lot to learn about me my friend.”
“How much time does he need to recover?”
Kostelecky waved the tool around Collins’s burned skin forcing it to heal up slightly faster. “At least two weeks to be safe, so you better have a spare pilot lying around.”
“I have EVE at the controls right now.”
“Do you really plan on letting the AI pull off fancy flying skills in the heat of battle?”
“I’m not expecting any more combat; we’re here on a mission of peaceful exploration and colonization after all.”
“What happened just now—?”
“Wasn’t peaceful, I get it.”
“Just find a skilled pilot, ASAP.”
“Doctor’s orders?”
“Yes, because I don’t want to see more of the crew members end up in here because the AI wasn’t programmed to get us out of danger or some nonsense like that. Anything else, Commander?”
“That’s all.”
“Good, you can grab a lollipop on the way out.”
ESRS CARL SAGAN, Mess Hall
Exiting Sirius B system
May 19, 2050, 12:18 SST (Sol Standard Time)
Williams’ groaning belly forced him into the mess hall along with most of the crew, it was lunchtime. The mess was packed full of navy and IESA explorers alike, sitting, eating, and chatting about recent events. He overheard a few members talk about his recent actions in handling the matter, then stop abruptly once they noticed he had entered. He could sense that there was a difference in opinion in regard to his decision to abandon Foster and her team.
He filled his meal tray with a burger seasoned with herb spices from Aervounis and a salad known as Jaukta, a popular dish among Javnis. He looked for a place to sit and wondered how Rebecca was holding out. She didn’t have a large meal before leaving nor did their expedition team take a lot of supplies with them, they weren’t planning on staying long after all. If they were alive, were they stuck on some alien planet with no food?
Williams took a seat at a table with Tolukei and a navy man whose name tag listed him as ‘D. Chang.’ Tolukei was feasting on a large serving of the same salad Williams picked up, and kept his face and four eyes still obscured by his creepy, hooded cloak away from everyone else.
“Commander,” Chang said to Williams as he began to feast on his burger.
“How goes it?” Williams said to them. “Tolukei, enjoying your meal?”
“It is fine.”
Silence descended on their table as they began to eat. Williams could see that Chang wanted to engage in more chatter like the rest of the tables around them. “So, uh, is it true your race and the Aryile came from the same world?”
“No, the Aryile uplifted my species when they discovered us,” Tolukei said. “The Radiance Union was founded afterwards.”
“I see, so both the Aryile and Javnis coincidentally came from warm planets then?”
“That is correct.”
“And that’s why it’s so damn hot on Radiance ships.”
“You’ve been aboard their ships?” Williams said.
“Once, as a tour to show us navy folks how the Radiance navy operates,” Chang said. “Kinda felt sorry for the other races that had to endure those temperatures, kinda an asshole thing for the Aryile and Javnis to do—”
Chang stopped himself mid-speech as Tolukei’s gaze shifted away from his meal and onto him due to his comment. Williams cringed internally and looked at Chang’s worried face. Offending someone that could kill you with a thought of their mind was never a smart thing to do.
“No offence,” Chang said abruptly.
Tolukei’s mouth twisted as he asked. “What’s an ass?”
“Well you see Tolukei an ass is—”
“Chang...” Williams cut in.
“It is the way of our people,” Tolukei explained. “Much like how your species is forcing me to endure these freezing temperatures. An asshole thing to do, as you put it.”
Chang ran his fingers through his short hair. “Ah, I didn’t think of it like that.”
“If you want, I could turn the thermostat up on the bridge,” Williams offered.
“It is fine,” Tolukei said, returning to his meal. “I keep a thin barrier psionic around me which traps the heat and humidity from my quarters.”
An awkward silence followed as the three resumed indulging on their meal. It was a silence Chang was determined to break two minutes later. “So, Tolukei . . . Javnis, eh?” Chang said to him.
“Yes.”
“And a psionic.”
Tolukei swallowed a fork full of his salad. “I prefer the term, Muodiry.”
“Muodiry,” Chang said. “What does that mean?”
Williams grinned and chimed in. “I came across that term in the Radiance database; it translates as ‘necromancer.’”