The Yellow Rover, page 11
Delly grinned and resumed eating her food. In a way she felt bad for him. Like her, Flintroy was the baby of his gender group. The difference was, she was sure that she could kick all of the women’s asses if any of them stepped out of line with her, while there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Flintroy would have just gotten his feelings hurt. Thus, the only silver lining she could find to being the sole female soldier among them.
“I didn’t really bring anything—except for a couple of photos of my mom and my sis. This definitely hasn’t been easy, you know?”
Delly didn’t respond. Judging by his tone, he seemed a bit lonely. But Sanhueza was the resident psychologist, not her. If Flintroy was depressed, that was where he needed to direct his energy.
“So how are you enjoying your time out here?” He went on.
“It’s fine.”
That’s it? Just fine?”
Delly exhaled and turned to him.
“What do you want me to say, Joe? Huh? I understand that Lotti was my friend, but last I checked, you’re not her and that’s okay.”
He lowered his head. His body language was weak, like he had no confidence. Must not have had a good day in the simulator.
Fuckin’ hell.
“Look we’re just passing through until we get to our first destination, are we not?” She went on.
“Never gave it much thought, but I guess so.”
Delly grinned and grabbed the uno deck. Better to end this conversation now than have him depress her even more.
“Anyway, I gotta get ready for bed. Enjoy your dinner. I’ll see you around.”
“Yep. See ya.” He said meekly.
She dropped her bowl in the sink and noticed that Sarker and Meneghini were looking at her. She glanced in their direction as they looked away sheepishly.
Nope. Not feeding into this shit.
If this mission was going to be successful, then they all needed to be professional. Being overly emotional was only going to get them killed.
⧖
The library door slid open as Delly entered, having freshly showered. Hearing Sarker and Meneghini talk earlier, she had totally forgotten that this room existed. Six computers and another dozen portable devices that could be used all over the ship for entertainment if necessary. Books, articles, even historical texts. No video games though.
When she wasn’t in the simulator or sleeping, she had been spending the bulk of her free time training with Roko and it showed. Her stamina had improved, while the muscle definition in her arms and legs were a vast improvement from her days on the Rover Base. So much so that she began admiring her physique whenever she stopped in front of a mirror.
She turned to the interior control panel and toggled the settings. She was hoping for some privacy. The settings gave her a maximum of ten minutes. She tapped the ten minutes icon and the panel indicated that the door was locked. She walked to one of the computer terminals and sat down. She turned it on and placed her hand against a biometric scanner. It scanned her fingerprints—opening a display just for her.
“Good evening, Delilah.” The computer said. “How may I be of assistance?”
“Jesus Christ.”
“Jesus Christ. Also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth.”
“No. Stop. I don’t need that. I only wanna make a video log to send to my parents. No history lessons today please.”
The video recording application opened as her picture appeared on the screen.
“You may begin when ready.”
She took a deep breath and tapped the record button.
“Hey Mom and Dad. Yes, it’s really me. In the flesh. Your daughter. Delilah. I’m just here in the library, dropping you a log before I go to sleep. Apparently, we’re no longer in the Galicia star system. Although, I’m not totally sure where we are at the moment. They don’t really let us gaze upon the stars on this ship. Then again, it’s not like I haven’t done a lot of that in my life anyway.”
She cleared her throat.
“But seriously though. This has been an experience, for sure. Umm, I don’t know if I can say that I’m having fun, but I can say that—this is where I’m supposed to be. I’m learning so much, so fast, it’s kind of crazy when I really think about it. There are some super smart and talented people on this ship and I’m just glad to be among them.”
She snickered.
“And Dad, you were right. I don’t know everything. I’m just trying to find my way. Being consistent each and every day. The way you taught me. It’s a lot, but I can handle it. Anyway, how’s Pharaoh? I know it’s only been a few weeks, but I miss that little guy. The perfect ego boost I call him.”
She snickered again.
“Is Orion still there or has he already gone to Cnaeus with Marius? Mom, I know you’re worried about him, but, he’s in good hands with Marius. He’ll smooth out those wrinkles. And if he doesn’t, you won’t have to worry about him being on a mission like this, the way you do with me. So it’s a win-win.”
Her smile subsided. Delly could have continued on for hours if necessary.
“Well, I don’t wanna take up too much of your time, but I made a promise to stay in touch. So I’m keeping it. Now, I don’t know how long its gonna take for this message to get to you. Apparently, we dropped a beacon, which has the ability to pass along the transmissions digitally or something like that. At least that’s what Kalene told me anyway. I don’t really know how the technology works. I guess that’s why I’m a soldier, not an engineer.”
She laughed.
“But anyway, I love you. I miss you. I think about you all the time. I can’t wait to see you again. And please give each other a big kiss and a hug from me. No matter how far apart we may be, we’re always together. Love you.”
Delly clicked the record button a second time, which stopped the recording. A yes/no icon popped up asking if she would like to transmit. She tapped yes. And just like that, her message was sent.
She wiped away a tear and sighed. Sending that message was the hardest thing she had to do since boarding the ship. Hopefully, it would become easier with each subsequent one she sent.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Beads of sweat dripped down Kalayjian’s chin as he skipped over a jump rope. The lack of cardio-focused machines on board the Yellow Rover had him going back to the basics unfortunately as his knees were beginning to swell from the overactivity. He dropped the rope and loudly exhaled. He looked around the gym to see that Roko was still using one of the three all-purpose exercise machines, while Flintroy was on the matted floor doing diamond-style pushups.
He still hadn't taken the time to apologize to Flintroy for their failed exercise. He had lost his cool and in doing so, was passing the buck onto his less experienced teammate. He picked up the jump rope and began coiling it as he walked over to Flintroy, who was still doing pushups. He waited for the set to end, but his presence only seemed to push Flintroy to keep going.
“You wanna take a break?”
“Nope.”
Kalayjian glanced in Roko’s direction. Roko displayed no expression at all while engaged in his workout. That man was all business, at all times. He turned back to Flintroy and got down on his knees, so he could try and have a conversation with the young man.
“Joe, I wanted to apologize.”
“For what?”
The kid continued grunting through his set. He had to be getting fatigued. Kalayjian had counted nearly one-hundred push-ups since he stopped skipping rope.
“Come on man, I'm trying over here. I was wrong and I'm sorry.”
Flintroy finally ended his set, collapsing onto his elbows and knees. His heavy breathing was a dead-giveaway.
“Kalayjian, it's all good bro. Seriously, you don't have to apologize.”
“You sure?”
“Uh-huh. This isn’t about my feelings. This is about getting better every single second, every single hour, every single day. So if you can dish it out, I can take it. Whether it’s the simulation, in here or wherever the fuck we end up. I'm not gonna be a liability, you can bet on that.”
Kalayjian nodded. Now he really did feel like a shit-heel. Flintroy had a better attitude than he did. He slid his jump rope under the kid’s face.
“Ah, you can keep it. I’m not done yet.” Flintroy said.
“Core work’s important no question, but every soldier has to have stamina.”
“I thought that’s what the boxing was for?”
“It is. But I don’t see anything wrong with doing both, do you?”
Flintroy shook his head, no. Kalayjian tapped him on the back and rose to his feet.
“When you're done, you’ll put ‘em back for me?”
“Yes sir.”
Kalayjian paused for a moment. He shook his head.
“I'm not your superior, Joe. Sam’s just fine.”
“You got it, Sam.”
Flintroy resumed his pushups. Kalayjian turned to Roko, who gave him an a-okay sign. He nodded and headed for the exit. A shower, followed by a power nap in his life pod, was beckoning him. He entered the corridor to find Zepeda, Ono, Roubideaux and Sarracino standing between the men’s comfort station and habitation chamber.
“Please don’t tell me the toilets are clogged again.” He said.
“Not even close. Someone’s having sex in there.” Ono remarked, while pointing at the comfort station.
Nothing could have showcased how restless and bored they all were becoming, then the four of them eavesdropping on an intimate session between other members of the crew. Normally, he would disregard the foolishness, but if people really were having sex in there, then he’d rather wait until they finished before taking a shower.
“Really? Who?”
“Don’t know. We’re just waiting.” Zepeda chimed in.
“My money’s on Daddy’s girl.” Roubideaux said.
Sarracino and Kalayjian locked eyes immediately. She had to be talking about Delly. However, he would have been surprised if Delly was the one getting busy, considering that Roko was still working out in the gym and those two were pretty much inseparable. All of a sudden, this childish activity had become very interesting.
“You think?” Kalayjian asked.
“Oh yeah. I know the type.”
Roubideaux seemed confident enough. Moments later, the comfort station door slid open as Hartwell stuck his head out.
“Hey, shower just stopped. Come on.” Hartwell said.
He re-entered the comfort station as everyone followed after him. Kalayjian brought up the rear and walked straight to his locker as everyone remained silent. Steam was filtering in from the lavatory as Jonsdottir and Sikosek exited with towels wrapped around their bodies.
“Gotcha!”
The two lovebirds were startled. They couldn’t have looked more embarrassed if they tried. Reddish cheeks that would have made Santa Claus himself, blush.
“Son of a bitch.” Jonsdottir said.
“I’m not gonna lie, I did not expect this one.” Sarracino added.
“Way to pop the Yellow Rover’s cherry. Somebody had to do it.” Ono joked.
“Wow. You guys are a barrel of laughs.”
Sikosek was not enjoying this attention one bit.
“Well, was it good at least?” Sarracino asked.
“What do you think?”
“I’d say you look satisfied.”
“Oh, fuck off, Ponch.”
Laughter ensued as Sikosek headed for the exit as Ono, Zepeda and Roubideaux tailed her. They were determined to get some answers. Once the women were gone, all eyes turned to Jonsdottir, who walked to his locker.
“You guys are real assholes, you know that?”
“In my defense, I’m just in here to use the shower. I don’t know about these two.” Kalayjian said.
“Damn all that.” Sarracino interjected. “Let’s make with the details bro. And don’t get all concise and shit. We want the real.”
Jonsdottir shook his head before gently banging it against his locker. If he didn’t know it before, he knew it now. There was no such thing as privacy on this ship.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The Yellow Rover continued its voyage through the cosmos as Biancuzzo stood behind the androids, who were in their normal positions, seated at the controls. He couldn’t recall the last time he entered the mission control and Seneca wasn’t piloting the ship. Sanhueza was right. The ability of these two androids to work around the clock while the crew rested was a tremendous advantage.
“Lieutenant.” Cayo said while turning back to him.
“What’s up?”
“The captain is requesting to see you.”
“Okay. where is he?”
“The library.”
Biancuzzo scoffed. Sanhueza was really reveling in his role, even if it did make him look like a dipshit half the time. He couldn’t recall a single instance since they all boarded where the captain just sat around with the rest of the crew and engaged in some camaraderie building. No meals, no cards, no gym work. What was the point of even joining an outfit like this if he didn’t intend on interacting with his crew, at least beside Biancuzzo?
He headed for the exit and entered the cabin simulator. He stopped immediately. All of the simulation chairs were in use by his soldiers. Roko, Hartwell, Kalayjian, Flintroy, Sarracino and Moore. They were being tracked by Sarker and Meneghini, who sat at the parallel monitoring stations.
“What the fuck is this?”
Sarker and Meneghini looked up from the monitors at him, then to each other, then back to him. Sarker partially lowered the headset.
“Lieutenant. Sir.”
“What is this, Kalene? I don’t remember authorizing you guys to do a simulation without me.”
Sarker looked at Meneghini again. She seemed to be pre-occupied with what was going on via the monitor.
“Hey, I’m talking to you.”
Sarker turned back to him.
“The guys wanted to get in some more group work and Fenix and I didn’t have anything to do, so we all got together and figured—let’s use the simulator. I mean, we can’t just sit around sleeping and eating all day, am I right?”
Biancuzzo sighed. This situation was exactly what he was worried about. Sanhueza had created an environment where far too many of the crew were not being engaged and left to fend for themselves. He was complicit in the bullshit, as he had made a promise to respect the command. But even with that, the time was coming for him to speak up.
“Yeah. You’re right. Carry on.”
He approached them as Sarker turned to Meneghini and nodded. He stopped between them and pointed to Sarker.
“I wanna full recap of everything that happened on this mission. Good and bad.”
He turned to Meneghini and pointed.
“From the both of you. Is that clear?”
“Yes sir.” They both answered.
He nodded and waved his hand over the control panel exit. The door slid open.
“Sir?”
He turned back to Sarker.
“Any word on when we might be able to get some time on the command post? We have four techs on board and not much for us to do.”
“I’ll bring it up to the captain again.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Biancuzzo exited and walked the silent corridor, passing the comfort stations, the gymnasium and the side airlocks. He stopped in front of the library and waved his hand over the control panel. The door slid open, revealing Sanhueza, who held a digital reading device while also having his boots up on a desk.
“You wanted to see me sir?”
The captain motioned for him to enter, lowering his feet and sitting upright.
“Figured you and I should speak somewhere private. Surprisingly, it appears this group doesn’t possess much interest in reading. I feel like I’m the only one who’s ever in here.”
Biancuzzo shook off his insult and sat opposite him.
“You don’t trust the androids?”
“It’s not so much that I don’t trust them as much as I feel that you and I need to be able to speak freely on certain matters.”
“I agree.”
Sanhueza placed his reading device on the table in front of him.
“Good. We’re getting closer to our first destination, so I figured now would be a good time to take a temperature. If you get my drift.”
Always the shrink. God forbid the captain would ever consider speaking to him in matter-of-fact terms. This shit was really getting old.
“I do. Morale seems to be steady.”
Sanhueza’s left eyebrow raised.
“Seems to be?”
“They’re fine. Maybe a little anxious to be sure, but fine, nonetheless.”
“If they weren’t, would you tell me?”
Biancuzzo scoffed. This guy was really something else.
“Yes. I would.”
“And the simulations?”
“A work in progress.”
“What does that mean?”
“That means whatever you want it to mean. Sir.”
“I see.” The captain nodded. “Would we be better off turning around?”
“Fuck no. You wanna talk about being bad for morale, float that shit out there.”
“So, who are my four sergeants?”
“That’s still to be determined.”
“Clocks ticking Pete.”
“I know. A decision will be made soon enough. And you’ll be the first one I tell.”
Biancuzzo double tapped the table and rose to his feet.
“I hope so.”
Sanhueza lifted his reading device.
“What are you reading?”
“Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy.”
“Never heard of it. Is it good?”
“For me, absolutely. For you, I have no idea. But I’m enjoying it, even if it is incredibly long. Definitely not a bad way to pass the time.”
He turned his attention back to his device as Biancuzzo got the hint.
“Sir?”
Sanhueza looked up at him.
“Is there something else?”
“The command post. I’m worried that we’re letting our technicians’ skills atrophy by not letting them use it.”
