Page 54 of Pets in Space 10
The lift swished open. Betero stepped out, followed by a tall, slender woman who wore a less wrinkled version of the navy blue jumpsuit. Her penetrating gaze took in the whole room.
“I am Captain Lecuyer. The ship is operating with a skeleton crew. There are no porters, no hospitality staff, and no cargo handlers.” Eyeing the security team’s loaded gravcarts, her voice sharpened.
“Leader Rishi, I’ll leave it to you and Toldt to orient the rest of your team.
All of you — passengers and security team — will have to handle your own gear, organize your own meals from the kitchen, and clean up after yourselves.
In-room sanitizers will handle your towels and bed linens.
The offices, entertainment rooms, and gyms are at your disposal.
The stateroom wallcomps are audio-only right now because we don’t have time to get the vid system fixed before we leave.
Double-tap the comms icon if you really need to talk to us. ”
Her acerbic tone implied someone better be bleeding before bothering the crew. Despite the pleasant lilting rhythm of her Afro-French accent, she was clearly in charge. She pointed toward the three full black carts.
“Whatever is in those crates can be stowed in a Deck One cargo hold or your assigned security section, but not in the passenger common areas. No one who is not crew is permitted on Deck Two without a crew escort. The special cargo has not yet arrived. Our comms tech, Okonye, will contact Kirilov and Triplo when it does.” She turned slightly to address Amalena and Gaerynx.
“Once you sign for receipt and seal the hold, we will launch.”
“Thank you,” replied Amalena. “If it helps to know, we’re in staterooms one and seven.”
Rishi crossed her arms. “Include my team on any notifications to the passengers.”
Captain Lecuyer looked Rishi up and down. “Right.”
Amalena suppressed a smile of admiration at how perfectly the captain’s tone balanced compliance and insubordination.
Rishi’s eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second before turning away with a dismissive shake of her head. Amalena couldn’t tell if they had a history or if it was just enmity at first sight.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Lecuyer added. “Read the emergency procedures manual and watch the vids. When we get a minute, we’ll do the safety tour for the noobs.” With a crisp nod, she and Betero stepped back into the lift, and the doors slid shut.
The moment the captain was gone, Rishi turned to glare at Amalena and Gaerynx. “Security protocol. We need to search your luggage.”
Her team moved in, their search of the bags atop the pet carriers perfunctory and disrespectful. Amalena watched as one of them confiscated her personal datapad and company tablet. Gaerynx’s similar devices went into the same collection.
“These will be returned after a security scan,” Rishi announced.
Amalena held her tongue. Arguing would be a waste of energy.
Rishi would likely keep their devices longer out of spite and might force them to give up their personal wristcomps, too.
Standing beside her, Gaerynx was admirably stoic, his expression unreadable as he watched the petty exercise of power.
“What the fuck?” The energetic young man was staring in consternation at the pet carriers. Apparently, he’d just noticed that the carriers clearly marked “live animals” did, in fact, contain actual live animals. He banged a fist on the lower, larger carrier. “They’ve got cats in here!”
Pavrel issued a loud warning hiss. The man banged his fist again, then slapped his hand on the carrier’s front grate when the hissing got louder. “Shut up!”
A snarled response accompanied a flash of claws through the mesh. The man screamed and jerked his hand back, two bloody slashes across the meaty part of his palm.
“Way to go, Dhalshun.” The disgruntled woman rolled her eyes.
No one moved to help Dhalsun as he dripped blood on the floor while opening his backpack one-handed.
Beside her, Gaerynx stirred, his wooden face losing the battle to hide his anger. Amalena briefly touched his sleeve to catch his eye and minutely shook her head. Let the screwups continue to screw up.
“Fuck you, Pivada,” the injured man snarled.
While Dhalshun applied a wound-seal patch to himself, Rishi held a quick, whispered conversation with the empty-eyed man, then turned to face Amalena and Gaerynx.
“Wild animals are a security risk. Therefore, they and their supplies will be locked in a cargo hold on Deck 1 for the duration. You can visit them there.”
Instant anger gave Amalena’s thoughts laser-like focus. She kept a calm but unwavering gaze on Rishi as she walked around the carts to tap the wallcomp twice. “Captain Lecuyer, please,” she said, maintaining an even tone.
She eyed the security team members. Rishi seemed the closest to violence, even more than the injured Dhalshun.
The man with the dead eyes and the woman, Pivada, seemed twitchy.
They might be rampers, either from minder talents with chems assistance.
If so, they’d be much faster and stronger than they looked.
A moment later, the captain’s voice came through the speaker. “Lecuyer.”
“Captain, this is Amalena Kirilov. I need to place a priority audio call to Mr. Lockwood, senior executive assistant to Vice President Cambrio Sainik. We need clarification on the conditions and parameters of our mission.”
“I see.” There was a brief pause. “Comms Tech Okonye is connecting you now.”
In her peripheral vision, Amalena noted Rishi’s face begin to darken as the seconds ticked by, suggesting the team leader might be another ramper. They often had trouble controlling their tempers.
“Lockwood.” The assistant’s haughty tenor voice fairly snapped with condescension. She usually found the man’s jealously guarded self-importance insufferable, but she wasn’t above putting it to use.
“Administrator Lockwood, this is Amalena Kirilov on the Herikkusu Dansa,” she began, striving for an air of calm concern.
“Security Team Leader Rishi and her team are here with me and Manager Triplo. We have a small issue. Ms. Rishi seems to be under the impression that our pets are to be quarantined in an empty cargo hold for the entire trip. I tried to explain that Vice President Sainik personally approved them, but I believe Ms. Rishi must not appreciate his well-known love of pets, and wishes to disobey his direct order.” She gave subtle emphasis to her last few words.
The explosion on the other end was immediate and glorious.
“That is unacceptable! Ms. Rishi, the Vice President’s wishes were made perfectly clear in the memo I personally sent to the security team.
A memo that you personally acknowledged ninety-four minutes ago.
The two pets are to be afforded full freedom of the ship.
” Lockwood’s voice took on the uncoiling menace of a rising cobra.
“Should we call Vice President Sainik away from the important presentation he is making to question his authority in this matter?”
Amalena turned to look at Rishi with a questioning raised eyebrow.
Rishi blinked twice, then took a deep breath and let it out.
“No, Administrator,” she said, grinding out the words.
“No need to interrupt the Vice President. Everything is fine here. Thank you for clearing up the misunderstanding.” Rishi turned and walked away, her gait as stiff as her shoulders.
Amalena thanked Lockwood for his time and ended the call, then walked back to stand next to the carriers and the solid presence of Gaerynx. She slid her hands into her jacket pockets to hide the adrenaline shakes.
Rishi swept everyone in the room with an ugly glare that landed on her team at the carts. “Don’t just stand there like fucking tourists. Do your fucking jobs and get this fucking gear stowed. Now.”
The team scrambled to follow her orders. Their diligence was hampered by their determination not to make eye contact with Rishi or each other as they started up the carts.
As soon as the path was clear, she and Gaerynx finally guided their stacked carriers and luggage toward the lift.
While they waited for the doors to open, she noted that the security team was squeezing their gravcarts through the south door marked “Offices.” She leaned closer to Gaerynx, keeping her voice low. “Where are they going?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe they gave Security their own dedicated offices when they did the upgrade.”
“Huh,” Amalena muttered. “I feel so much safer knowing RyoGenomica’s new and improved security posture includes a nova-class team of professionally trained assholes.”
Gaerynx’s answering snort made her smile.
***
Amalena crouched before the carrier to look at her cat. Merix, settled into his cat loaf position, met her regard but didn’t budge. “I don’t blame you, my friend.” She lightly touched the frame. “I’ll leave this open so you can come out when you’re ready.”
It had been thirty minutes since the confrontation at the airlock. Her first priorities had been to get Merix settled in her utilitarian stateroom and have a cool-down for herself.
Amalena washed her face in the tiny, one-person fresher, letting the cold water soothe the lingering heat of anger.
She followed it with a series of slow, deep stretches, methodically working the lingering adrenaline out of her system, then launching into her favorite moving meditation form sequence.
It was just challenging enough to keep her body in motion and her thoughts grounded.
Unethical actions like her ex’s abuse of a nonprofit organization or the intentional humiliation of Tikka Parnumaya with the escorted exit pissed her off, but blatant cruelty obliterated her restraint in a nanosecond.