Stormcrow, page 29
“Nothing happening at the moment,” she told him tiredly. “I took the Cap'n's shift myself so she could rest. Lincoln is up next.”
“I'll cover for him, then,” Sean nodded. “Let them get a good night's sleep since most of this is on them.”
“Is this not some freaky mess?” Faulks asked, fighting off a yawn.
“Most I ever seen,” Sean agreed.
“Well, I'm beat,” the former Marine told him. “I got to get some shut-eye, but if anything happens, wake me.”
“Will do,” Sean promised. He watched Faulks disappear down the passageway and then made a turn of the ship, checking on things for himself. Satisfied that the ship was locked down, he made his way to the bridge and checked the sensors, which were unsurprising clear. There wasn't much traffic here other than ore haulers. The Celia's sensor suite was actually in stand-by mode since operating them so close to the town wasn't really safe, but even so she was capable of detecting motion or air traffic.
He settled in on the bridge, thinking about his own future for the first time in a day. His conversation with Faulks kept coming back to him, playing over in his mind. She had sounded sincere, and, as Tony has said, made some solid points that he hadn't really thought her capable of. If he could trust her, and that was still a big if, then he was probably better off staying aboard the Celia rather than trying to find a new berth somewhere and starting over.
He had to admit that this mystery around Jessica was also pretty intriguing. It was almost worth wanting to stick around just to see how that played out. He wondered what the girl would do now. Staying here, on Gateway, was pretty much out he figured. Sooner or later someone would connect her with the disappeared Jessica from two or more decades ago and then she would be in for a time. She would have to get off this planet and probably stay off of it.
She would need new identification and have to find a way to make a living that didn't depend on her teaching certificate, since that was in the name of a woman who had been missing for twenty-five years, give or take.
His own problems were simple in comparison, at least for the moment. His 'truce' with Faulks seemed solid enough, and he was strangely trusting of Faulks' stated determination to be a better hand for the Captain's sake. Her attraction to Meredith Simmons notwithstanding, being pulled from certain death by the Captain was more than enough to warrant Faulks' undying loyalty.
It was still a risk for him, but he was at risk no matter where he went and that was just a fact. Faulks was right in that at least here he knew the risks and could counter many of them. He was also fairly sure that Faulks meant it when she promised she wouldn't do anything to jeopardize his safety. The rest of the crew could almost certainly be counted on not to give him away except by accident.
Staying here would be a risk, but it was a calculated one. The crew would be careful in what they said about him for fear of giving him away. His face wasn't on any wanted posters anywhere and there was no official notice of his being wanted by the Commonwealth or anyone else. He knew there were people looking for him, some for the same reason Faulks had, some for deeper, more sinister reasons. Either of those reasons was enough for him to kill whoever came looking without pause and he didn't spend more than a few seconds worrying over that.
His main worry was that staying would endanger the others should someone actually discover him and come looking. Risking them being hurt or killed as collateral damage wasn't something he wanted to do, yet they all seemed to want him to stay on despite knowing the risks.
And honestly, were the risks any higher than they had been when the crew hadn't known who he was? That thought hit him square on for the first time and he almost laughed at his stupidity. If someone had discovered him before the rest had known who he was, they would have been in just as much danger as they would with him staying on now that they did know. Somewhere in his determination to remain unknown to those around him he had overlooked that simple fact. If he was targeted, it wouldn't matter if the crew knew his real identity or not. In fact, knowing who he was might actually make them more careful.
Faulks could likely handle herself against any reasonable threat. Tony was equally capable of taking care of himself, despite his attempts to hide it. And he was obviously well connected to someone, considering his ability to get information on Hartley Station. Sean still didn't know who Jerome Delgado was, but whoever Tony's father might be, it was obvious he was Someone. And Tony was definitely able to take care of himself.
Lincoln and Meredith were not, but that's what they paid the rest of the crew for when it came right down to it. The Captain had never made any bones about the fact that Faulks was here as much to serve as muscle against trouble as she was on the cargo floor.
Jessica was a wild card at the moment, but he had already seen her in action at least once, even if she couldn't remember it. He was fairly sure at this point that the girl really didn't remember it, too. She might just be a really good actress, but the more he thought about it, the more certain he was that she simply didn't know what she'd done. That made her both more dangerous, and yet also a possible asset in protecting the ship and the owners. Possible being the operative word.
Digging out who she was and what she was capable of would take time, especially to do so safely, but if she remained on the ship they could probably manage it over time.
And he was pretty sure that the Captain was going to decide to let her stay aboard. Maybe even try and talk her into it. She hadn't come up with the idea to use her maiden name on the fly, or call Jess her younger sister, either. Meredith Simmons wasn't stupid. Stupid people didn't rise to command warships, at least not in wartime. She had obviously been thinking about the problem ever since it had arisen. The name and cover story were obviously part of her plan, whatever the rest might be.
Celia did need a pilot, at least for a while, he mused, leaning back in the seat and staring out at the darkened skies through the screen. Jessica could fly, and do it well. She now needed a place to be and a way to make a living. It seemed to be a good fit all the way around, and if Sean could see that, he assumed that Meredith Simmons could see it, too.
All of these thoughts bounced around inside his head as Sean continued to stand his watch into the daylight hours, allowing the Simmons some much needed rest. As he'd said, this problem was sitting square atop them more than anyone other than Jessica herself.
A good night's rest could only help, if they could get it.
Linc woke slowly, his eyes blinking several times to clear away the fog of sleep. He rolled slightly to look at the clock and swore softly, realizing he had slept through most of his watch. Rising, he went to the sink and threw some water on his face, dressed and headed for the bridge, being as careful as possible not to wake Meredith. She had obviously been very quiet when she'd come off her own watch earlier.
He found Sean Galen on the bridge, gazing out at the slowly breaking dawn. The engineer turned to see him and grinned.
“Morning.”
“Why didn't you wake me?” Linc demanded. “It was my watch four hours ago almost.”
“No need,” Sean shrugged. “I couldn't sleep, and Faulks had already stood the Captain's watch, so I figured to do the same for you. You guys needed a good night's sleep for once. You got a lot on you at the moment.”
Lincoln blinked at that, then shook his head slowly.
“You guys didn't have to do that,” he said finally, moving to the co-pilot's seat and taking it.
“No, but we wanted to, and there was no reason to wake you when I wasn't going to sleep anyway,” Sean shrugged again. “I had a lot of thinking to do and this was a good time to do it.”
“What are you thinking on this early in the morning?” Linc asked conversationally as he took his seat.
“Just this and that,” came the reply. “Some about Jessica for sure, but also about what I'm going to do next.”
“And what are you going to do?” Linc asked. “You know you can stay here, Sean. I think we've made that abundantly clear to you. If not, let me do that now. We want you to stay. Need you to stay even. Not just as an engineer, but as someone we can count on.”
“I appreciate that,” the younger man nodded. “Faulks and I had a long talk about that when we were reorganizing the bay back on Liberty Vale.”
“Seriously?” Linc's eyebrows rose at that.
“Yeah. She pointed out that I wasn't going to be any safer anywhere else than I was here. Maybe less so, since I'd have to start over wherever I went. She also promised that she'd never turn me in, and even help me if someone came after me.”
“Wow,” Lincoln didn't know exactly what to say to that. “Maybe you should have held a knife to her throat before.”
“Wasn't that,” Sean shook his head, missing the attempt at levity. “I think she meant what she said about the others. That she would have killed them herself, had she known. Faulks may have her faults, but she has her own code she lives by. What happened to my people violated almost every part of it.”
“Hadn't thought about that,” Linc leaned back in his chair. Of course, he hadn't considered her capable of much more than an average thought process, either, he admitted.
“The real problem is the risk to you all,” Sean told Lincoln flatly. “The people who would be after me, happens they knew I was here, wouldn't care at all about collateral damage to the people around me. All of you would be at risk if that happened.”
“Would have been anyway, whether we knew who you were or not,” Linc said, echoing Sean's own thoughts.
“That wasn't something that ever occurred to me until maybe two hours ago,” Sean admitted with a nod. “Now, I'm wondering if all my bouncing around was worth anything.”
“Made you felt a bit safer, so it was an effective defense mechanism,” Linc pointed out. “And, knowing that we are aware of your past, who you are, might make it easier for you. We don't care what you did in the war, Sean,” he said bluntly. “None of us do other than maybe Faulks, and like you said, she's had an epiphany about that.”
“Not just that, either,” Sean turned to look at him. “I think you'll see a big change in her from now on. May take her a bit to overcome bad habits, but. . .she's determined to make up for any problems she's caused you two. Really determined.”
“I'll believe it when I see it.”
“Don't blame you,” Sean agreed, “but I think you'll see it. If you're like me, you'll refuse to see it at first, not trusting it. But I think she means it. In fact, I'm as sure of it as I can be.”
“Sure enough that you think you might stay here with us, now?” Lincoln tried to keep the hope from his voice, but it leaked through anyway.
“Yes,” Sean replied simply. “I like it here, and I like most of the people on the ship. I enjoy my job, Lincoln, and I'm pretty good at it. I'd like to keep doing it.”
“Then as far as I'm concerned that issue is settled,” Lincoln said at once, smiling. “Meredith will say the same thing. She's tried for the last two months to figure out a way to get you to stay.”
“Have to be careful,” Sean warned. “We'll have to be watchful and aware. If someone starts asking too many questions about me, I need to know it right away. I'll have to leave rather than put all of you at risk.”
“I appreciate your willingness to protect us,” Linc replied, “but we're either a crew, a family, or we're not. If someone does come after you, then we'll all help you.”
“I'd rather you didn't,” Sean said bluntly. “Too much risk to you, and to the life you have. If something happens, I'll just slip away and you can say, truthfully, that I deserted you. That would probably protect you from any harm, considering that Meredith holds the Navy Cross and is considered a hero.”
“Maybe,” Linc mused. “We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. How about that?”
“Works for me.”
“Jessica, I've been thinking about your situation.”
Meredith's voice cut across the table as the crew finished their breakfast. She hadn't been especially happy that Faulks had taken her shift, but she admitted that she felt pretty good after a night's uninterrupted sleep.
“Yes ma'am?” Jessica's voice was smaller, today. She seemed that way too, Tony thought. Like she was drawn in on herself.
“You realize by now that you can't stay here, I imagine,” Meredith was blunt, but not unkind.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that whatever is going on here, you're technically someone who disappeared twenty-five years ago and was never heard from again. You're still the same age as you would have been back then, too. I am amazed that your ID hasn't been tagged by now as a missing person, to be honest. Not to mention that you have no way of making a living here, anymore. Your teaching certificate won't be any good to you if you're using another name, which you would absolutely have to do. It's clear just from what we learned yesterday that your family is still well remembered, as is your disappearance. People aren't going to miss your return.”
“This is all wrong,” Jessica shook her head, a single tear escaping her left eye to run down her cheek. “If I disappeared, when did I come back, and why is it just five years to me?”
“I don't know,” Meredith admitted. “I really don't. All I do know is that you have to make a decision about what you're going to do. We can't stay here like this much longer. Honestly we should already be on our way, but thanks to your flying we've got some time to spare. But only so much.”
“I don't have anywhere else to go,” Jessica said helplessly. “As far as I know, I don't have any other family, anywhere. Not here, not elsewhere.”
“You can stay with us,” Meredith said flatly. “I don't know what happened to you, Jess, but I want to find out, and we can't do that here. It didn't happen to you here. You can stay with us, fly the Celia, be a part of our crew. We'll figure out a way to get you a new ID, something that will pass muster, and create a new background for you. I don't have any family either, anymore. No one will question you as my sister if you want to keep using that name. We'll work it out, somehow.”
“Why are you doing this?” Jessica asked. “I've been nothing but trouble to you since I got here. Why would you be willing to help me like this?”
“Well, for one thing, we need you,” Meredith admitted. “Could probably get by without you but there's no doubt that we'd do better with your help. We've always had too few crew on this ship and we've discovered that having two pilots is a good idea. Even once Lincoln is well again, it's obviously a two-person job to fly and land this ship.”
“And because something happened to you, somewhere,” she continued. “I don't know what it was, but I don't like it. I don't like the idea that somehow your life was turned upside down like this and you were taken from your family and a dream that you had was just cast aside as not important. I know what that's like. I've had a dream taken from me, too.”
“I want to find out what happened to you, Jessica,” Meredith repeated. “Even if we can't, there's a place for you here. It's not the same as being at home, with your family around you I know. But it's not bad. We're good people for the most part, even if we're sometimes rough around the edges. We can't replace your family, but we can offer you a home, safety, and a new family of sorts. Offer you a chance to have a good life even if it's not the one you wanted. And whenever we get the chance, we'll be looking into what happened to you. We travel a lot, and sooner or later we'll be back to Beria, or maybe somewhere else that might have some information that will help us.”
“We've got time,” she leaned forward. “We'll figure it out eventually, if it can be figured out. We're a fairly smart bunch, all totaled.”
“Yes, you are,” Jessica agreed. “Too smart to take on the risk of having someone like me around.”
“What about me?” Galen asked suddenly. “You don't think there's risks to having me on board?”
“You're leaving because of them, though,” Jessica reminded him.
“No, I'm not,” he grinned at her. “I'm staying. There's no point in trading devils I don't know for the one that I do, as Faulks put it. She convinced me to stay.”
Faulks sputtered slightly, her face reddening, but she nodded nonetheless. She seemed satisfied that Sean was staying.
“You're not leaving?” Jessica asked with renewed interest.
“I'm not leaving,” Sean confirmed. “And I'll do everything I can to help find out what happened to you, and keep teaching you in the meantime. How about that?”
Jessica looked at the assembled crew gathered around the galley table, wondering what stroke of luck had led her to them. Wondering also what had happened to her that she seemed to have jumped forward in time twenty-five years with no memory of anything happening to her at all.
They had all been good to her, even Faulks after a while. She admitted that she felt at home here, even though she'd been aboard only a short time. Celia was a comfortable ship and the people aboard her were equally comfortable to be around. She trusted them.
And Meredith Simmons was right. There was no way she could continue her life as Jessica Travers, considering what they had learned yesterday. Even if people accepted that she was who she said she was, there would be an avalanche of questions that she had no way to answer. Questions that she wanted answers to as well, but had no idea where to get them.
So, she couldn't teach anymore. By the look of her small hometown and from the reports of the others, that need had been met already. The quality of life in the Mills was considerably higher than she remembered it being as a girl. They didn't need her anymore.
But the Celia did. She could fly, and Celia needed a pilot. That was something she could do. A way to earn a living and have a home at the same time. A place of safety while she tried to figure out what had happened to her. People that would help her figure it out.
“So, I'd have a job working for you?” she asked, almost timidly. “I'd be earning my living and not just. . .not. . .charity, I guess,” she shrugged.
