Ryk Brown - Aurora CV-01

“Some?”

“Okay, most.”

“Most?”

“Don’t push it, Ensign.” Nathan took a deep breath before continuing. “You’re right, about all of it, actually. But that was before I enlisted. Since I got into the Academy, I’ve actually been trying to do my best. For the first time that I can remember, I actually believe in something, I actually care about something.” He paused to look at her. “Something other than myself, I mean.”

“And I’m just supposed to believe you?”

“Well, I guess you don’t have to. But it is the truth.”

“Okay. Fair enough, I guess.” Cameron wasn’t quite sure what to believe. Nathan was opening up to her, which was something that she wasn’t used to, at least not from men. And certainly not from Nathan. Most guys had found her too cold and calculating to ever get close to her in any real sense of the word.

“So,” Nathan said, breaking another uncomfortable silence. “My turn?”

“Fair is fair.”

Nathan began an exaggerated ritual, rubbing his hands together and pretending like he was loosening up for something really big.

“Alright already! Out with it!”

“You’re cold and dispassionate, you refuse to admit when you’re wrong, and you’re always trying to prove to everyone that you’re better than me.”

They sat there for a few moments, each thinking about what the other had said, trying to decide what was true and to come to terms with it.

“Well, you make me sound like a real bitch,” Cameron mumbled.

“I wouldn’t say that. I may have overheard others toss that word around, but…”

Cameron cut him off with a slap of the back of her hand against his shoulder.

“I am not dispassionate,” she objected.

“Maybe that was the wrong word.”

“So what do we do?”

“I don’t know, call a truce maybe?”

“I guess I can live with that,” she resigned.

Nathan held out his hand, which Cameron reluctantly shook. “Alright then.”

Cameron rose from her perch and made her way down the step ladder. Once back on the deck, she turned back to Nathan. “You know, I wasn’t trying to prove that I’m better than you,” she explained as she turned to walk away. “I already know that I am.”

Nathan just smiled and watched her walk away, thinking, she really is a bitch.

It had been a long walk back to his quarters from the hangar bay. And all Nathan wanted to do was climb into his bunk and stay there. The day had been long and exhausting, at least emotionally if not physically. And he suspected that despite their truce, the next few days were not likely to be any easier.

Nathan was sure that he had done everything possible to try to work with Cameron. In fact, he had purposely avoided giving her a direct order whenever possible so as not to make her feel like anything other than an equal partner. But after listening to the captain, he was starting to wonder if that had been a mistake. Nathan had never cared much about rank. He followed and respected it, after all, the Fleet was a military organization. And like any other it depended on rank and discipline in order to function, which he understood fully well. But having rank had never meant much to him, personally. Of course, that could’ve been because until now he had always been pretty much at the bottom of the totem pole. Nathan liked his job. He loved piloting the ship. But as far as being in charge was concerned, it was starting to feel more like a punishment than a privilege.

“There you are!” Vladimir declared from his bunk as Nathan entered their quarters. “I was starting to wonder if you had fallen asleep in the simulator!”

“I’ve spent the last couple of hours being verbally assaulted,” Nathan explained as he took of his uniform shirt.

“What are you talking about?”

Nathan kicked off his shoes and fell onto his bunk, rolling over onto his back before continuing. “First, I was getting chewed out by the captain. Then I got an ear full from Cameron’s roommate.”

“The little red head?” Vladimir inquired. “She is full of fire, that one.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. Then, I had to do a little verbal jousting with Cameron in the hangar bay.”

“This does not sound like a good time,” Vladimir sympathized. “What did the captain want?”

“Let’s just say that if Cam and I don’t get our act together and start playing nice over the next few days, you’re gonna have a new roommate.”

“Bah! It will never happen, my friend. You will do fine, you will see.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Vlad. We’ve been screwing up the simulations left and right! If I was the captain, I wouldn’t let us fly a cargo shuttle, let alone a starship.”

“Nathan, you worry too much. These simulations they put you through, they are crazy! They could never happen! These people who make them, they are reading too much science fiction. Trust me on this, such things do not happen to people such as us.”

“I don’t know,” Nathan objected.

“Listen, when they give you normal stuff, you know flying around, dock with this, dock with that-this you do okay, yes?”

“Sure, but…”

“…The captain, he knows this, trust me.”

“Maybe, but it’s not about flying the ship. It’s about Cam and I not getting along.”

“Yes, of this I have heard.”

“What?”

“Everyone knows this,” Vladimir explained. “They say you are like old married couple,” he laughed. “Hey, maybe you should sleep with her!”

“Oh, that would really help!” Nathan protested.

“Okay, then maybe I should sleep with her?”

“Get serious.”

“It’s a big sacrifice, yes. But for you, I am willing to do this.” Vladimir joked.

“No thanks,” Nathan chuckled, “That won’t be necessary.”

“Are you sure? I can go right now. I am always ready to serve.”

“Enough, already!”

They both had a good laugh over the idea, after which Nathan decided to change the subject. “So, speaking of woman problems, how are things going in your part of the ship?”

“Better,” Vladimir said. “She is not as bad as before. She is still a pain in my ass. But at least not as often.”

“What happened? Did you sleep with her?”

“No, of course not,” Vladimir protested. “Not that I wouldn’t, because of course I would if necessary.”

“For the good of the ship?” Nathan teased.

“Yes, for the good of the ship!” Vladimir announced proudly. “For the Aurora!”

“For the Aurora!” Nathan laughed.

Captain Roberts entered the briefing room at exactly 0800 hours, his data pad in one hand and his coffee mug in the other. “Good morning gentlemen,” he greeted, as he made his way to the head of the table and sat down. Commander Montero, his executive officer and his chief engineer, Lieutenant Commander Patel were already seated at the table. “Thank you for coming. I know you all have more than enough work to do since we’re still so short handed. So I’ll try to keep this meeting as brief as possible.”

The captain took another sip of coffee before continuing, calling up his notes on his data pad as usual, to ensure that any pertinent information he might need would be at his finger tips. He was a man who believed in being well prepared whenever possible.

“The reason for this meeting is that Fleet Command is anxious for us to get underway on a limited test run of our primary propulsion systems. It seems that there is some concern over the efficacy of their design, as well as their projected performance capabilities. If that turns out to be the case, Command would like to be able to address these problems before the Celestia is fitted with the same propulsion systems.”