Title: Mutable: Chapter Eight, Part Two
***
Chapter
Eight, Part Two
“This is VS-229,” Fillie said as
they walked toward the enormous ship that dominated the back half of the camp.
“It’s the primary vessel our department uses for groundwork. It holds up to
three hundred people, and it was reconditioned only last year to provide state
of the art facilities.” She rubbed her armor-clad hands together. “It’s so
neat! Definitely the most modern ship I’ve ever
served on. Logistics doesn’t usually get first pick when it comes to upgrades,
you know.”
“I can imagine.” It looked pretty
impressive to Cas, but then he’d never even been off the ground before, much
less on a ship that could travel through space. He shivered slightly at the
prospect. It was…maybe, possible, just a bit…intimidating.
But you’ll be fine. Of course he would. Nothing was going to derail
his plans for justice, especially not some ridiculous phobia that he was
perfectly capable of controlling.
Fillie led the way up the
gangplank and into the ship. It was bright
in there, Cas realized. So bright it made him blink. After a lifetime lived in
darkness, stepping into such a stark, artificial brilliance made his eyes burn.
“Let me lead you to the—oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Fillie apologized as soon as
she turned to look at him. “I forgot to take you back to medical! They equipped
all the other refugees with eyedrops to help mute the light until they
adjusted. Come on, we can—”
Cas forced himself to smile.
“I’ll be all right,” he told her. “I’d rather put off another trip to the
doctor for now, if it’s okay with you.” I
need time to move the phage away from where they’ll take blood samples.
“Sure! Of course, whatever you
need.” Fillie shifted awkwardly on her feet, servos hissing a little. “Let’s go
on to the captain’s cabin, then.” She led the way down the ship’s central
hallway, the metalmesh floor giving a little beneath her weight. Lights lined
the ceiling, the walls—there were even lights in the floor, along the sides of
the hall. Cas frowned. These people seemed obsessed with being visible. If this
was an indication of their greater culture, then he was going to have to change
how he’d planned to get around in the future. Sneaking through the shadows might
be harder than he thought. The only accent color was Imperian Red, too,
which…good grief, it was gaudy on a person, but coating the inside of an entire
spaceship it was downright garish.
People in uniform, but not armor,
moved around them like ripples spreading out from a thrown stone. The stares
were more intense in here—the crew left to man the ship hadn’t had as much
exposure to Cas yet, and were even more interested because of it, but he
followed Fillie’s lead and ignored them.
“Crew berths are one floor up,”
she explained as they walked, “except for the captain and command staff, which
are in the front of the ship near the command center. Engineering is one level
down, and storage is beneath that and in the aft of the ship. The medical
center is on this level, along with all the general work stations and meeting
rooms.”
“I might need a map,” Cas joked,
but Fillie took him seriously.
“You should already have access
to the ship’s AI,” she said. “Just scan your chip on any of the readers and ask
whatever you want. That’s how you’ll activate all the devices in your rooms,
from the shower to the entertainment system.” She glanced back at him. “The doc
will implant a regular chip in your wrist when you have your medical checkup,
but the card should do everything you need for now.”
“Great.” Foreign technology to work around. The phage won’t like that. At
this rate he’d exhaust the parasite before it had a chance to regenerate itself.
If that happened…well, it was better not to borrow trouble. It hadn’t happened
yet, and it probably wouldn’t. Probably.
“Here we are.” She turned down a
small hallway to the right, just before they reached an impressive set of double
doors, and stopped at the last doorway. “These are the rooms you and the
captain share! I’ve never been inside, but I’m sure they’re amazing.”
“Oh.” They were here already? “Are
you…leaving?”
“Well, I can’t exactly go inside
myself.” Fillie held her wrist up to the reader outside the door and got a red
light and a “Entrance denied” from the speaker. “Try yours.”
Cas lifted up his card, and a
moment later the light turned green and the door slid open. The room inside
seemed comfortingly dark, at least. “Okay. I guess this is it for now then,
huh?”
Fillie seemed to sense his nerves
for the first time. “I’ll find you later,” she promised him. “You can ask me
any questions that come up once we’re beyond atmosphere. And if you really need
me, the AI can link us up.”
“Got it.” He didn’t, really, but
now wasn’t the time to cling. Although, if he’d really been Beren, he’d have
been clinging to Private Fillie for all he was worth. “Thank you for all your
help.”
She beamed. “You’re welcome! See
you later, sir.” She turned and vanished at the end of the hall, and Cas took a
deep breath and stepped inside to his new quarters.
The lights brightened
immediately, and he winced and shielded his eyes. “Too much,” he muttered. “Um…”
He looked for the nearest reader and scanned his card again. “Excuse me…AI?”
“I am listening, Consort Basinti.”
Ugh, what a title. “Can you dim the lights?”
“By what magnitude?”
“Fifty percent?” The lights
dimmed immediately, but it was still too bright. “Make that sixty percent.”
That was better. He took in the basic layout of the room—this was the public
area, with enough elaborate velvet chairs to seat four around an
extravagantly-carved table, and an eating area off to the side. The toilets and
bedroom must be through the doors at the back. This room also had a round
window, probably a meter in diameter, with a view of the bustle going on
outside. It was strategically interesting, but strategy was taking a backseat
to learning about his new surroundings for now. “Can you block out the window?”
“Yes, Consort.” The glass turned
opaque, and Cas sighed with relief. That was better. It felt more comfortable
in here already. Now…to get down to business.
“Can you show me the entertainment
center, please?”
One of the walls completely
transformed into a giant, immensely bright screen. “Dim the light!” It dimmed
by sixty percent, and he blinked reactive tears away from his eyes. “Okay,
then.” He sat down on the chair farthest from the screen, crossed his legs—it was
one of Beren’s affectations, and would make him seem younger if anyone was watching
him right now—and said, “Show me something on the history of Imperia, please.”
“Choices loading.”
“Thank you.” It was best to start
getting a handle on his future terrain while he could, and no on would be
surprised to see him researching in this way.
The Glory of Imperia appeared on the screen, followed by a long
list of more. “Um…play Glory.”
“Loading now.”
“And dim the lights another ten
percent, please.” It did, and the headache that had been forming behind his
eyes slowly faded as an enormous ship came into view, heading for a green and
brown planet in the distance. The narrator’s voice was soothing, and Cas slowly,
finally, let himself relax a bit.
It would do until his husband got
here.
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