First Flyght – Chapter 14

Sleep? What’s sleep?

I like my quarters on the ship well enough to spend my alone time here, but I’m still not used to it. My favorite photos sit on the desk, and I brought my cotton and silk bed linens from home, one of the few things I splurge on. I sleep only a few hours every night, so I want the bed to be as comfortable as possible. I also thought, hey, I might be sharing this bed with men in the next few months, I’d like for them to enjoy it too.

That’s all looking like a giant joke played on Vivian.

I roll over in bed and flick on the small bedside lamp. It’s just one LED, but it can light up a significant portion of the room. Frogger raises his head from his spot on the floor, and I reach over and let my fingers play through the fur between his ears. He huffs and yawns before laying his head back down.

Grabbing my wristlet from the nook in my headboard, I prop myself up with my pillows and prepare to while away the hours reading. Then I stop. Wait a second. I haven’t read anything for fun in years. I’m not even aware of the last time I watched a movie, read a popular novel, or listened to a band that’s produced anything in the last five years.

I’ve been in continual school mode for pretty much all my life. When was the last time I did anything fun?

It was years ago when I was dating Ken. He took me to a concert not long before we broke up. We danced all night. We had fun. And then I broke up with him, and my life became boring.

The silk sheets slide around my legs as I roll over onto my stomach. What in the hell am I even going to talk to these men about? The ones I’m supposed to be wooing and inviting into my family? They’re going to talk with me for like ten minutes and be so bored, they’ll want to die.

But that’s not my biggest problem, is it?

I’m projecting way into the future instead of focusing on right now.

Hauling myself out of bed, I step over sleepy Frogger, pull on my robe, and leave my quarters. The ship is dark and quiet at this hour. Even Skylar is in bed, as evidenced by the Do Not Disturb light next to her door, but the rooms are sound-proofed so I wouldn’t know if she was snoring or having a party in there.

I walk along the corridor, humming and deciding what to do. Lia’s Do Not Disturb light is also lit, but Carlos’s quarters are empty, his door open and lights off. I don’t know where Marcelo is. We gave him quarters, but the door is also open. The mystery is solved when I make it past the shuttle airlock and find his ship gone. He comes and goes as he pleases, which is as it should be, though I wish he were here, so I could talk with him about what to do next.

This would be a good time to go look at my aquaponics equipment and decide how to set it up in the auxiliary cargo area. I don’t have fish yet, but I will soon enough since I plan on purchasing what I need next time I’m on Ossun or Rio. Still, the tanks need to be assembled, and I must choose what to grow, probably fresh greens since those are harder to come by when we’re on the float, as Skylar calls it.

I’m making my way down to the auxiliary cargo bay when I pass the server room, or ‘Carlos’s den of technology’ as I like to call it. Music is cascading out of the door, a soft thump-thump-thump, and Carlos is drumming a beat on a console inside.

“Memory allocation and relocation analysis complete,” Ai says, her voice soothing and sweet. “We’re operating at eighty-four percent efficiency.”

“Only eighty-four? That seems low.”

I approach the door slowly.

“It’s better than sixty-three percent.”

“I know. But I’ve been working on the storage maps for two weeks. There must be something I’m missing. If only these damned systems weren’t so old.”

Carlos glances up and sees me in the door. A stick of some processed meat is hanging out of his mouth, and his hair is pointing in a hundred different directions. He bounces to his feet, and a bag of chips flies off his lap.

“Shit!” He bends over to grab them. “Sorry, Captain. Didn’t know you were up. Is the music bothering you?”

“No, not at all.” I crouch down to help him pick up the chips. “You know the quarters are sound proof so… Anyway, you should call me Vivian.” I dust off my hands and open one of the fold-down chairs near the door. The smell of potato chips makes my stomach growl. I never did eat dinner.

“No, ma’am. My father would whoop me if he heard me calling my boss by her first name.”

I smile, thinking of my own father. “Your dad a stickler for authority?”

“Yes, Captain.” He grabs his water bottle and takes a long, noisy swig. “Too many boys in the family and all he ever wanted was a daughter. So he’s relying on us to bring a good girl home.” He rolls his eyes. “My older brothers have a better chance of that than me. Doesn’t matter, anyway.”

“Why’s that?” I cross my arms and sink back into the pressure gel of the crash chair. My brain didn’t want to go to sleep, but my body is bone tired.

“Four out of six of us got the Vir Gene.” He snaps his fingers. “Me included.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” And I truly am. Carlos is a gawky, acne-prone, and socially awkward teenager, but I bet he’ll grow into a handsome man. But the Vir Gene means he’ll be out of the running for most of the higher society women out there. He’ll only ever be able to father boys.

“No big deal,” he says, waving his hand. “It is what it is.”

“Besides, he has me,” Ai whispers, and I jump before I laugh.

Carlos smacks the console. “What did I tell you about butting into other people’s conversations?”

“Ooooh, baby. I do have a BDSM protocol I can put into service if you want to get frisky.”

I snort out a laugh. “Cool it, Ai, before you launch us into a star or something.”

“Yes, Captain. My safety protocols are top notch.”

“You’re delusional,” Carlos mutters. “The only reason you have safety protocols is because of me.”

“And I thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”

“You don’t have a heart.”

“Then from the bottom of my storage drives.”

“That’s better.”

I watch the exchange like I’m witnessing an old married couple fight over whose taste in movies is better after fifty years of marriage.

The music changes, and the mix catches my attention. It’s some island beat mixed with synth trumpets. “I like your tunes.” I lazily bop my head to the rhythm. “I was just thinking, in my quarters, that it’s been a long time since I listened to some current music.”

Carlos is fixated on his screen as code goes flying by. “Oh yeah? Don’t get out much?”

“Nope. I’ve been in school for years, and there wasn’t much time for music or movies or, well, anything fun.”

His fingers fly on an old and clackety keyboard. I haven’t seen one like it in a long time. Most people use their projections. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen Carlos wear a wristlet. I wonder if he has the eye implant. Not everyone does. It’s expensive.

“No movies? No concerts?” His voice squeaks a little, but he covers it up with a cough. “You must have been bored! What was the last concert you saw?”

“Funny you should ask this, I was just thinking my last concert was with Ken…” I speak before I think.

“Ken? Ken who?”

“Nobody,” I say, quickly, but when Carlos cocks an eyebrow and narrows his eyes, I decide, for once, just to be honest. “Ken Mata, my ex-boyfriend.”

I count to five before the realization dawns on his face. “You used to date the CEO of Flyght? What?” He draws it out while pushing away from his console and whistling. “And he turned you down for your permit? That’s harsh.”

“Oh, honey,” Ai butts in. “That’s cruel. Who does something like that? Did you hurt him? Is he still simmering, do you think?”

Really, I think Carlos and Ai are made for each other.

“Well…” I immediately become defensive. Not good. “He didn’t turn me down for the permit. His employee did. I don’t think Ken even knows I’m here.”

“Why not?” Carlos asks.

“Um, because he’s my ex-boyfriend. Ex. I haven’t talked to him in years.”

“Hold on for a second,” Ai says, and she pauses for a short moment. “I’ve just searched the recent entertainment archives, and my data suggests that Mr. Mata is currently unattached. He hasn’t dated anyone in at least a year.”

My body reacts before my brain can, and my face flushes. I hate that. It makes it so hard to keep a straight face and power my way through an embarrassing situation.

I didn’t know he was single. Why would I care if he is, right? We’re not getting back together.

“My sensors indicate your ambient body temperature is fluctuating, Captain. Do you need to see a medic?” I can’t tell if Ai is being sarcastic or not.

“No. I’m fine. I should go back to bed.” I get up from my chair and hope to slink away, but Carlos stops me.

“Hey, Captain. I may be out of line here, but…”

Stopping and turning around, I flex my muscles and wait for the punch.

“If you have any connection you can exploit, you probably should. Skylar is worried about our future, and, well, if I don’t keep this job, I’m going back to the backwater town I grew up in. I really don’t want to go back there.”

The punch lands, but it’s deserved. He’s right. People depend on me now. If I were back home and running the farm, those employees would also rely on me. This is what being an adult is all about, not letting others down.

I return to the chair. “You said you’re good with computers and systems and all that, right?” I wave my hand in a vague circle at the stuff he’s sitting next to — boxes with lights and fans and wires snaking everywhere.

“Me? Good with computers?” He laughs throwing his head back. “I mean, I don’t want to say I’m the best or anything, but, yeah, I’m pretty damned good. I orchestrated security breaches on two major corporations last year to come in third place in the Terceiro Black Level Hackathon.”

“I have no idea what any of that means,” I admit.

His mouth drops open, but in a rare display of restraint from a sixteen-year-old, he doesn’t admonish me.

“Let’s just say that if you want something done, I can do it. I’m keeping this hunk of junk flying with machinery either so old it’s fossilized or systems I’ve built myself. This over here” — he gestures to a wall of tech — “is my, well, my masterpiece.” He jerks his eyebrows up twice. “It’s the kind of tech most people like me would kill for.”

Okay, then.

Time to, as Skylar would say, put on my big-girl panties and get the job done. She was always much better at it than I was. I’m just not cut out for this kind of drama. But this is something I have to do. I can’t go home now. There’s only one way forward.

“Carlos, as your captain, I want you to hack into Flyght’s network and get me on Ken Mata’s schedule for first thing in the morning.” My gut surges, and a tidal pool of acid sits in my stomach, but this has to be done.

I need to ask for what I want.

Carlos scoffs, blowing air through his lips. He turns to his console and gets to work. I sit back, prepared to wait awhile, but he finishes in less than a minute.

“Done. I moved around a few of his meetings and made room for you at oh-nine-hundred hours Concord City time. You’re his first meeting of the day.”

Shit. That was too easy. I begin to sweat. “And it’s two-fifteen now? I should go to bed.”

“You’ll want to be there a bit beforehand. It looks like his admin arrives every day at eight-forty-five. He may question the schedule changes if he’s on top of what his boss is doing every day, or he may be hungover and a total slouch.” Carlos shrugs. “Hard to say.”

“I could find out for you, Captain,” Ai says, and I jump again, my heart skipping a beat. I’m not used to her being there when she’s not really ‘there.’ “I have access to street and business cameras in every city we travel to, not to mention credit transactions, hotel reservations, escort reservations, what people eat, drink, where they go —”

“That’s enough, thanks. I get the picture.” She’s a snoop and a busybody. Understood. “No, thanks. I’m not worried about the admin.” I’m worried about what Ken will say when he sees me.

Carlos yawns and stretches, and the yawn catches to me.

“I think it’s time to go to bed,” he says, standing up. “I’m sure there’s much more to do tomorrow.”

I stretch my arms and wonder if I’ll be able to go back to sleep. Will my brain calm down or will I sit up all night thinking of all the ways I’ll be embarrassed tomorrow when I ask Ken for his help?

“Don’t worry, Captain. I’m sure it’ll work out. If you and Ken dated before, he’s bound to give you the permit. I don’t know how anyone says no to you.”

He smiles as he slips past me and down the corridor to the stairs to the quarters.

My belly grumbles, and anxiety opens a giant pit in my stomach where food should go.

Maybe it’s time for leftovers, and a side of rice, miso soup… I lick my lips. And seaweed crackers! Oh, and that ice cream I hid in the back of the freezer.

Yes, time to eat. Sleep will come later.