“If I could, we could replace you.” Dev concurred. “And we’re cheap and expendable. That’s what they say.” She watched Jess’s face, taking a breath as she suddenly saw an intent personality become present there, as Jess abruptly looked at her, not through her and she saw more intelligence and emotion in that one glance than she’d ever experienced before. “So you know, I don’t know if I can help either. I just have what programming I have, and I’ll do the best I can if they want me to try.”
Jess exhaled. “Yeah well.” She glanced past the bio alt to the rest of the room. “Lately we’ve been sort of expendable too.” She indicated the room. “Until they figure it all out, you bunk here. “
Dev looked around at the space. “By myself?” She asked, in a surprised tone.
Jess twitched a little and looked at her. “What?”
The bio alt, for the first time, looked a little off balance. “Sorry.” She peered around. “It’s a big room.” She explained. “It wasn’t ‘like this in the crèche.”
“No, I guess not.” Jess felt faintly amused. “Okay, well, that’s the sanitary station.” She pointed, then paused. “You know what that is, right?”
“Yes.”
“Shower and lav in there, you can put your kit in the cabinet.” Jess swiveled around. “Sleep.” She pointed at the bed. “Relax.” She pointed to the left hand side loft. “And work.” She pointed at the right hand side loft. “I’ll leave you to explore. We’ll call you if we want you to come to the comms center. Otherwise, stick around here. It’s easy to get lost in this place.”
Dev nodded. “Okay.”
Jess turned to go. At the door, she paused and looked back. Then she turned and left, without speaking.
Dev drew in a deep, deep breath, then she let it out. There was so much to absorb, she was really glad she had a few minutes at least to just do that. She set the green bag down , then she sat down in the chair behind the workspace on the lower level, which was soft and comfortable and reminded her just a little of her sleeping pod back in the crèche.
She sat back in it and turned it around, regarding this huge space with more than a little bemusement. So here she was. Things were not going according to plan, but she’d ended up in this place anyway with all this incredible strangeness around her.
At the very very least, she’d have a cycles worth of stories to tell them back in the crèche if they did send her back. Dev pondered that idea, and decided she really hoped they didn’t.
Really.
**
Jess detoured past the caffeine station on her way back to the strategy center. She put her palm down on the dispenser plate and the system produced a vacuum bottle full of her preference. She uncapped it and took a sip, turning around and leaning against the counter.
What could have been. She studied the bottle. By this time she should have been in a scavenger station, trading her jumpsuit for an exposure kit, and if she’d been lucky, assigned to a work battalion down in the caverns harvesting seaweed.
And at that she would have been one of the lucky, with basic but functional housing and the promise of a meal so long as the quotas were upheld.
She knew what it was. She had two siblings out there somewhere doing the work, since they hadn’t qualified for anything better, and their family’s tenure in service guaranteed them at least that.
Those that had neither family connection or needed skills ended up in the out lands, the only shelter there what they built themselves, and as for what they lived on?
Jess’s face tensed into a grimace. They lived on what they could steal, and being caught out in the out lands was as dangerous to someone like her as taking a trip to the other side.
So here she was instead, her whole intent reversed, and she’d have been lying if she’d said she was sad about it. It was one thing to stand on your honor. It was another to actually like the consequences of that and Jess was self aware enough to know she’d lead a relatively privileged life and she liked it that way.
It was nice to know she’d likely be lying down in her bunk tonight rather than on cold stone, or in a rough worn hammock, and she could have caffeine when she wanted, and a meal in the senior mess. She felt a bit guilty over how glad she was Bain had showed up, brought her back in, then blew Bricker away like he’d been no more than a sea rat caught in the storage silo.
Very unexpected She’d thought maybe Bain would come in and take charge, make plans, maybe make some changes.. hell she’d hoped he would do that but outright kill Bricker?”
Ah, no. More than a little scary. Jess capped her drink and took it with her, heading with no further delay towards the strategy planning center. Outside the door she met up with two of her remaining peers and they all looked at each in silence for a long moment.
“Jason.” Jess murmured. “Glad you two weren’t the ones out there.”
“Jess.” Jason Anders finally said. “What in the Hell’s going on?” He was a tall man, with thick brown hair and hazel eyes.
“Crap all, from what I hear.” The woman next to him said. “Is it true? Bricker’s dead?”
“They didn’t’ send a squirt out?” Jess frowned. “Public as it was? Bain splatted him in the middle of central comms for craps sake. In front of some doctor from the bio station no less.”
“No, nothing.” Jason shook his head. “Elaine? You get anything on comms?”
“Not a damn thing.” Elaine Cruz shook her head. “I just heard something from one of the med techs they sent in there to clean the mess up.” She put her hands on her hips, her rust red hair making her fair skin and green eyes stand out.
Jess glanced at the door. “Well, you got the baseline of it. I was humping up onto the shuttle when I ran into Bain. He knew everything. Asked me to come back with him, and about two minutes after we got to central he pulled a blaster out and took Bricker’s head off.”
“Damn.” Jason said. “Just like that? For nothing?”
“Bain could do it for nothing.” Elaine said. “Who’d stop him?”
“I didn’t.” Jess said. “I got the feeling it wasn’t just one thing that caused it.” She studied the both of them. “They call you in there?”
Elaine nodded. “Tucker and Brent are in their quarters. Scared to death.” She said. “Afraid Bain’s going to do the same to them.”
Jess turned and palmed the door. “Let’s find out how screwed we are.”
“Jess?” Jason said, just as the door started opening. “Glad you’re back.”
“Ditto.” Elaine said.
The door was open and Jess didn’t answer. She led the way into the strategy center past the outer chamber with it’s scattering of austere chairs and to the second portal, which was guarded by two members of the security group.
Jess half expected to be challenged, but the guards merely drew aside and triggered the door for them, and the three enforcement agents proceeded inside.
It was quiet. Stephen was seated near one end of the large plotting table, and Bain was in the big leader’s chair at the very end. The table was lit with statistics, and the curved wall behind the table was brilliant with readouts and scans.
“Ah. There you all are.” Bain said. “Did you get your new colleague settled, Drake?”
“Yes.” Jess sat down mid table, and Elaine and Jason took seats next to her, on the side away from Bain.
“New colleague?” Jason asked, in a low tone. “What’s that about?”
“Did you say something, Anders?” Bain asked. “We don’t really have time for idle chit chat you know. Not if we’re going to find some way of getting those two teams back.”
Jason cleared his throat. “Sorry sir.” He said. “I was just wondering what new colleague we have.” He returned Bain’s look steadily. “It’s been a sore subject here lately.”