“I guess not, but I wouldn't really know.”
“So why did the Captain send you to check on me?” Ashley asked with a crooked grin.
“I wasn't supposed to tell you that, by the way. I just didn't know what to say about why I was in the stasis room.”
Ashley laughed and nodded. “I got that.”
“Honestly? I think he just thinks we'll get along and I don't know anyone here, not even him really.”
“No one really knows Captain. It's kind of his thing. Me? I'm all emotional peaks and valleys, I swear Stephanie wants to just strangle me sometimes.”
“So the Captain's never um, gotten together with anyone?”
“Not while I've been aboard. Stephanie talked about his port wife for a while, some lady he'd stopped in on a few times before I came aboard, but I think that's been over for a while.”
“Port wife?”
“You haven't heard that before?” Ashley said in mild disbelief.
Alice shook her head.
“It's just a woman who he kept in contact with and every time we were in the area we'd make a day or two stop. He'd find work for us, but not before going off ship and staying with her a night or two.”
“Oooh, so they weren't actually married.”
Ashley laughed and shook her head. “Nope, I couldn't see our Captain tying the knot anyway. I think he's way too attached to the life.”
“You're probably right,” Alice agreed, watching three people heft a dead log off the ground in the distance.
The pair were quiet for a few comfortable moments before Ashley gasped and looked at Alice, wide eyed. “Do you have a thing for Captain?” she asked in an excited conspirational whisper. “I mean, you're not his biological daughter so-”
Alice looked at her, repulsed. “No! Somehow that whole idea just doesn't fit in my head. Definitely a square peg, round hole situation.”
The pair burst out into laughter for a moment. “See? Peaks and valleys.”
Alice nodded. “Oh, I see it,” she finished laughing and sighed. “You know, you're not that far off though. I always carried a torch for Jonas. It burned out when I started seeing what kind of work Jake was doing, but when I met up with Jonas himself it came right back.” She said quietly.
“What was he like?”
“Pensive, gentle, brilliant. There are things Jake has in common with him, they're just as smart, but when Jake is thinking it looks more like he's brooding. With Jonas he looked calm, serene, pensive. When he got angry it was a directed thing. I got to see him in command a few times, even in simulation when Freeground transferred my program temporarily to convince him that he was actually in command of a real ship during testing. That's a long story, but he was a fearless tactician, and if he got angry it just gave him more resolve, he'd concentrate harder and could intimidate anyone. He was a good man.”
Ashley put her arm around Alice's shoulders. The woman's sadness had a weariness to it. There were no tears, but her manner was tainted by her quiet lament.
“But there's Jake, and he's pretty amazing. Finding out he was a framework didn't seem to phase him much, but then it must be easier when you don't have the memories of a life you didn't live.”
“Captain's always seemed really strong. I've heard a few people call him a machine before, I wonder what they'd think now,” Ashley said with an exaggerated ponderous expression.
“I don't think being built on a regenerating bio-mechanical frame would hurt his reputation,” Alice sighed. “I'm just glad I didn't lose Lewis, my AI on the Clever Dream. ”
“I thought he was what transmitted the virus on Daracka.”
“He was, but I have a sealed backup that's a couple months old. I'm pretty sure whatever he caught was from the Enreega system. The digital forensics I did here show the virus is on a timer, it works its way into an artificial intelligence then sets itself off once it's got directive control. It just took a lot longer than normal with Lewis, so he was able to hold out. Too bad he lost the battle just as we landed on Pathia and the virus didn't let him warn us, but I suppose it could have been worse. He could've gone off inside the Triton, which is probably what he was trying to prevent.”
“So he actually saved us.”
Alice smiled and held up a small silver data chip on a chain. “I keep his backup in my flight jacket pocket. As soon as we get this virus figured out I'll start him up again.”
“I'd love to meet him.”
“Well, he's a little stiff and proper, but I figured the thing I needed most was something to occasionally help me see common sense.”
“Stephanie does that for me. Too bad she doesn't always do it for herself.”
“She seems like she's pretty together.”
“Usually.”
“Too bad about her and Frost though.”
“Yup, that's pretty obvious. He's definitely not my kind, which I told him over and over again for a few months, but I think he and Stephanie would be good together. She should just punch Grace in the nose and run off with the big guy.”
Alice chuckled. “I'd love to see that solution play out.”
Dinner
Agameg Price waited for the lift to arrive. For some reason both of the cars on his side of the main shaft were uncharacteristically busy shuttling people between the upper decks. He leisurely considered methods to improve the lift system's pattern of movement, to increase its efficiency, and that led him to reflect over the time he'd spent on Triton so far. The past couple of days had been busy. Many of the new crew were training, learning the posts they had some applicable skill for. He and the rest of the staff with maintenance and repair experience didn't have the luxury of the extra time, however.
He found himself wishing Finn was around more than once, as Agameg sometimes struggled to learn about a new system or the best approach to a brand new problem. According to many people he'd had a chance to work with on the flight deck, the bridge and on tasks across the ship that were assigned by Liam Grady in engineering he was one of the fastest learners on board. People were starting to simply assume he had the answer. It didn't fit his general disposition, to be looked up to. He preferred to be known as the smart, quiet hard worker. With few leaders the Triton was providing unpredictable opportunities for people, himself included, to shine, however.
It was a ship unlike any he'd seen or served on. Even the circuitry in the walls and between decks used technology that was theoretical on his home world for the most part. He wasn't the only one. There weren't many people who had seen the kind of technology that was at the heart of the Triton, and as a quick learner he was often put in charge of teams. Just that day he had started watching for people who could take charge in his place eventually. To his relief there were a few, but he was well aware that they weren't learning about the ship as quickly due to lack of dedication, a slower learning process or a greater need for sleep. As someone the Captain trusted he was often placed on bridge watch for a few hours at a time, it had happened twice during the last two days.
Agameg supposed he'd be bone tired if he were a human, he didn't need as much sleep and could make up for missing a resting period by eating an extra meal, but as one express car finally made it down to him he was quite pleased that he didn't feel weary at all.
Stephanie was already in the lift and he joined her, smiling cordially.
“What do you have there?” she asked him.
He held up the darkened, fluted bottle. “It's peach wine. I had a few bottles hidden on the Samson. ”
“Oh, that's why you're coming from the hanger.”
“Yes, did you know Chief Vercelli is planning on working on it? He likes older ships and says the Samson is a classic. I'm going to be volunteering in my spare time.”
“I had no idea, Captain'll be happy about that.”
“So, is there a reason why we're having this gathering in his quarters? I thought the officer's lounge might be more suitable.”