Beneath Their Notice
The next day hurt, but Ava managed to roll off her bunk and land on her feet. She splashed water on her face and reported to the bridge.
The
9Lives
had exited into realspace in a system she had never heard of: Hydra Nal, the first of their four leap targets. She had scoffed at the name. It simply sounded funny to her.
The system was actually quite large. There was a binary sun with a collection of planets and planetoids in orbit around it. The system was abandoned, but some sort of cosmic curiosity had rendered it largely useless. The terms
coronal mass ejections
from one of the stars and
variable luminosity
came up when she asked Kane about the system.
He told her that some old war had ruined the system, which had once been largely developed and inhabited. There had been ten habitable worlds with billions of people living on them, Kane explained. This was back when humanity had been a single, powerful force in the universe.
Now they were fractured.
The Dominance, First Founding, and Concordia were the three largest powers, splitting what had once been a single human empire into three large chunks, with innumerable smaller factions existing along the fringes or in the space between them. These smaller factions could encompass a single world or sector. Small crumbs of the whole, too small to bother swallowing and posing no real threat to any of the big three.
Beneath their notice, as Ava understood it.
Ava knew that colony kids and the rich brats of managers and senior miners had to attend formal schools and probably knew all the intricacies of how the current state of humanity came to be, but she figured she had a good enough understanding of most of what she needed to know.
She could disassemble and reassemble any piece of gear on the ship. She could operate any of the industrial-grade machinery in the hold or bay. She knew the ship’s systems to a passable degree, and she could pilot the shuttles like a professional. Anything she didn’t know, she had access to a ship-grade AI that could explain it. Even with only the functions of her suit’s VI interface, she had access to a wealth of information.
If somehow she gained a real interest in the history of mankind’s folly, she could delve into it.
If she had an interest.
She liked the idea of discovering places and things and then learning about them. Things she could see and touch. The nebulous term
history
simply didn’t mean anything to her. She could tell that her father wanted her to care about it, as he did.
She could listen to him.
Ethan, on the other hand, loved when Kane launched into an impromptu history lesson. He was there on the bridge now, listening in rapt silence as the captain pointed to one planet or another on the data core display.
“Five hundred years of randomized plasma gouts and polarizing environmental shifts, and there would be almost nothing left,” Kane was saying. “This once-proud and embarrassingly wealthy crown system is now just dust and ice.”
“How do we know? Has anyone been able to make it to the surface?” Ethan asked.
Kane smiled. “I am sure someone has. Some plucky young idiots who just had to see it for themselves, or a stubborn old man who never trusted his ship’s systems to tell him what he needed to see with his own eyes. But you simply don’t need to risk it. Ship sensors can detect that there are no remaining cities or hab sites, and the AI models show exactly what happened. The beacons around the system compile all the stellar data from the suns’ bursts and flares. Our ship has a remarkable year-by-year playback of what would have happened to each planet.”
Kane enlarged one of the planets and played back time, showing impacts and polar ice buildups that eventually froze the entire planet.
Ethan was amazed. “And nothing could have survived that?”
Kane thought for a moment. “No, I am sure there is still life in the oceans and maybe even extremophile species in pockets near volcanic vents. Even on these dead worlds, there is some sort of life. But salvage? I wouldn’t bet on it. And if there were something, we do not have the tech or the right ship to get near enough to find it, let alone retrieve it. These planets are simply lost to humanity.”
“Unless someone fixes those stars,” Ava said as she walked up to join them.
Kane laughed. “That would change things. But for now, this system merely serves as a remote leap location for people like us.”
“Do you think other spacers actually come here?” Ava asked.
“Oh, absolutely. It’s remote but close enough to other systems. It’s uninhabitable enough that no pirate would risk establishing a permanent base here, and the traffic is sparse enough that marauders wouldn’t waste their time setting up traps for the wayward salvage ship. It’s a solid system for when you intend to fly under people’s notice,” Kane explained.
Ethan stepped back from the data core’s projections. “Thank you, Captain. I should get back to it.”
“Of course, Ethan. Next time we find ourselves near another Old Empire landmark, I will let you know,” Kane said. “It’s good to have someone with a genuine interest to talk to about these things,” he added, looking toward Ava.
Ava rolled her eyes but said nothing.
This was a strange position for her, and she felt as though she were being tested. Kane was being casual. Too casual. He was the captain, on the bridge, during his duty hours. Ava was not his daughter right now. She needed him to know that she knew that.
Ethan smiled as he looked between the two of them before turning sharply and exiting the bridge.
Ava noted that his smile hadn’t reached his eyes.
“Sir,” Ava said after the bulkhead door closed behind Ethan. “What highly important tasks do you have for me, your team lead, this day?” she asked, trying to sound formal and unbothered by the hollowness she had seen in Ethan’s eyes.
“There is nothing more important than your continued recovery,” the captain began.
“What about the engine core?” Ava asked.
“Other than that,” Kane conceded.
“And the piloting systems,” she said.
“And that,” he agreed.
“And the oxygen recyclers,” she added.
Kane leveled a withering glare at her, but she saw a glint in his eye that said he was enjoying the game. “There is no duty that you should be performing at the moment that is more important than your continued recovery,” Kane corrected.
Ava nodded, crossed her arms behind her back, and stood at attention as best she could.
“As you command. What would you have me do?” she asked.
“Report to the med bay for a checkup, and then I want you to practice using the ladders properly. You’re slowing down my ship,” Kane said.
Ava’s mouth flew open to hurl protests, but she managed to shut it again.
“Sir,” she said and attempted to stride from the bridge, but her leg seized beneath her and she fell forward onto her hands and knees.
“That will be all,” Kane dismissed her before turning to speak with Zach in the piloting cockpit.
Ava bit back a spark of anger at herself and at the embarrassment.
She had passed his test, she thought. She had treated him as a captain, admittedly with some level of playful cattiness, but that was something she had seen as normal. Not every captain would put up with it, but in low-stress moments, verbal sparring and measured joking were acceptable.
Ava found her feet and staggered toward the door. It opened, and she exited.
She lunged for the railing and used it to navigate the upper main. She passed the first ladder, not wanting to risk running into anyone darting from the barracks to the mess or equipment lockers. Instead, she opted to traverse the upper main until she reached a ladder that would deposit her directly in front of the med bay.
When she reached it, she grabbed the railings and went to hop her feet onto either side of the ladder. Using that method, she would be able to control the speed of her descent. This was what her father had been telling her to practice.
It was a dexterous maneuver, to be sure. It incorporated motor function, hand-eye coordination, muscle control, and some level of strength. Ava was confident that, with what she had accomplished yesterday and after a full night’s rest, she would be able to pull off a very sloppy landing.
What happened instead was that she managed to trip over her own sluggish legs. Her hands slipped, and she fell into the opening of the ladder well with one leg. She banged her shoulder against the far lip of the well as she fell through, her torso and left leg hanging over the Main while she desperately clung to the upper level with one leg and her right hand still grasping tenuously at the side of the ladder.
She felt her leg scraping as she slipped. Her grip was weak and failing.
It failed.
She started to fall.
Then suddenly, she stopped.
“I got you,” Ethan grunted.
Ethan caught Ava just as she lost her grip on the ladder and slipped the rest of the way through the ladder well. He held her in his arms as she instinctively clung to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and neck.
“Are you okay?” he asked, concern written across his features.
Ava felt like salvage slag, but she put on a brave face. “Fine. You?” she asked.
Ethan saw a red gash forming at Ava’s temple. “Ava, you’re bleeding. Let’s get you to the doc.”
Ava sighed. “Where I was going anyway.”
Ava prepared for him to set her down, but he surprised her. He turned and carried her to the door of the med bay. It opened, and he carried her inside.
Hailey was sitting at a desk reading a paper novel. A strange hobby, Ava thought. All books could be freely collected and read from data slates or printed onto recyclable data sheets if someone simply had to turn pages to get enjoyment from them. Hailey collected these things wherever she could find them. She could bring only so many aboard the ship, but she always seemed to have an endless supply.
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Hailey stood from the desk. “My goodness, what happened?” she asked as she strode forward.
Ava’s resentment grew.
“I slipped on the ladder and bashed my head and shoulder pretty good,” Ava explained, still being held aloft by Ethan.
“Bring her over here, dear,” Hailey ordered, tapping the treatment table that dominated the room.
Ethan carried Ava to the treatment table. “She was just sort of hanging there before she fell. I was coming out of the locker and saw her. I sprinted over, got beneath her, and she fell. It was really lucky.”
“Yeah, lucky it was you and not Peters. He would have been flattened,” Ava said wryly.
“No, Peters is strong enough to catch you. You’re not heavy,” Ethan said.
Ava felt her face begin to turn red. She was thankful for the blood she could feel streaming down her face.
“Thanks. Ethan?” Ava asked.
“Ava?” Ethan responded.
“You’re still holding me,” Ava pointed out.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, releasing her above the treatment table.
She had grown relaxed and had released her grip on him. She fell like a sack of scrap and thudded onto the padded treatment table.
“Shit, sorry,” Ethan apologized as his own face grew red. “I should go.”
Without another word, he exited the med bay toward the fore of the ship.
Ava’s body flared with pain as she landed. She cringed, beginning to curl into a ball, but Hailey placed her hands against her and gently pushed her flat, shushing her all the while.
Ava forced her body to calm, allowing her muscles to relax. She silently cursed Ethan through clenched teeth.
“Stop the grumbling, you,” Hailey reprimanded as she clucked over the cut on Ava’s head.
It was not deep, but head wounds tended to bleed. The cut was a long, jagged line in front of her temple that extended into Ava’s scalp. Hailey pulled on a pair of gloves and began massaging a gel into Ava’s scalp.
It burned like alcohol in a wound but quickly numbed and tingled the area. Hailey squirted another gel into her gloved hand and began rubbing it in. Against Ava’s will, she found the experience soothing and mildly pleasant. Ava could almost feel herself drifting when Hailey stopped and pulled off her gloves.
“Open your mouth,” Hailey ordered.
Ava complied without thinking. Hailey plopped two full tablets inside.
“Swallow.”
Ava tried to spit them out, but Hailey slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Ava, you don’t want to be awake for this.”
Ava tried to struggle free, but her right arm was pinned between her body and Hailey’s, and her left arm wasn’t responding. Ava struggled briefly before giving in and swallowing the capsules.
Ava glared at Hailey as her eyes grew heavy and her vision blurred.
“Poor girl. Going to need a sling now,” Ava heard Hailey say.
Then she was out.
Ava woke some time later with a start to a noxious smell. Her nostrils burned, and her eyes watered as she rapidly blinked them to a chorus of soothing shushes. She felt a small foam pillow beneath her head, which she had snapped backward into.
She recognized the feeling as her body entering fight-or-flight as adrenaline spiked through her. It was the unmistakable sensation of being brought to consciousness with a wake-up stick, a handheld medication dispenser. It had injected her with a vaporized ammonium carbonate mixture that was sometimes loaded with additional partner drugs capable of reversing the effects of poisons, opioids, or paralytics. The effect was almost instant, though it could have negative consequences.
Ava coughed, and her body screamed as her muscles tensed. She had been on a steady dosage of whatever Hailey had been giving her. Even at the reduced dosage, she had depended on the pain being dulled simply to continue existing.
That pain was now sharp and present.
Ava inhaled sharply through clenched teeth and blinked her watery eyes. She could see two people standing over her, but the lights were too bright for her to make out any details.
She still knew them.
Hailey and her father leaned over her.
Ava swung at Hailey with her right arm, which Kane deftly caught and held.
“That’s okay. Calm down,” Kane said, his voice soothing and reassuring.
Hailey, to her credit, hadn’t flinched away.
Ava struggled against Kane’s strength for only a moment before allowing her arm to go limp. Kane released it and let it drop back to her side.
Ava was still lying on the treatment table. She was covered by a light blanket, which Kane reached down to adjust more securely over her.
“Had a small service accident, I hear,” Kane said in a calm tone, though Ava heard the edge of worry in his voice.
“That’s the rumor,” Ava said. Then she demanded of Hailey, “What did you do with my clothes?”
Ava could feel fabric against her bare skin and realized she was no longer wearing her undershirt or work coveralls. She felt the cold air on her feet as well.
“I’m sorry, Ava. I had to cut them away to inspect and treat you,” Hailey explained sympathetically.
“Had to? I just bumped my shoulder and scratched my head!” Ava exploded in frustration.
“Ava,” Kane reprimanded sternly. “It was more than that. Yes, you bruised yourself pretty badly, but you also have a four-inch gash in your head and a dislocated shoulder. Dr. Hailey needed to conduct a full inspection and put your shoulder back into place.”
“Please. She is not a doctor. She is a glorified medic and clothing thief,” Ava blurted.
She wished she hadn’t, but it was already said.
Kane started to retort, but Hailey interrupted him.
“Yes, Ava. I am acting as the ship’s doctor, but no, you’re right. I hold no formal degree. That does not change the fact that what I did was not intended to humiliate or hurt you. Your clothes were already torn and largely soaked in blood. You cut more than your head. Your legs, arm, and shoulders needed to be cleaned and bandaged. Undressing you could have caused additional damage, so I cut them off. I stand by that choice because it was correct.”
Hailey’s voice was firm but soft as she spoke, though she had straightened her posture slightly.
“We have clothes for you to change into, but you are going to need assistance dressing and undressing for some time. As for the shoulder, a dislocation is not nearly as bad as it could have been, but it will still take time to heal,” Hailey said.
Ava closed her eyes as frustrated tears welled up, born of shame and helplessness. She felt vulnerable lying there in her undergarments, covered only by a thin medical blanket.
Ava opened her eyes again, allowing the tears to flow freely as she stared toward the ceiling.
“Fine,” she forced herself to say. “More drugs and time. How long?”
Hailey reached out and held Ava’s hand, squeezing it gently. “Another two weeks before it is completely repaired. Kane and—”
“The captain and I,” Ava corrected, trying to distract herself from her profound disappointment by falling back on familiar pettiness.
Hailey ignored her and continued. “The captain and I have been discussing options. He suggested, and I agree, that it would help your recovery and prevent further injury for you to wear your suit for a time.”
“My suit? On the ship? Why?” Ava asked.
Kane answered. “Because it will help assist and stabilize you, and if you have another tumble, you will be mostly unaffected.”
“Can you both let go of me? I am not a child,” Ava said.
Neither of them did.
Kane looked at her and caught her eye. With that simple glance, he made his thoughts clear.
Stop acting like a child if you want to be treated like a woman,
his eyes said.
Ava once again focused on stowing away her misplaced anger.
“I’m sorry,” she said while looking at no one in particular. Then she looked at Hailey. “I’m sorry. Thank you for helping me.”
Ava felt Kane squeeze her hand, and Hailey released her hold on the other to lightly pat Ava’s forearm.
“It is my job,” Hailey said, accepting the apology.
“That’s my girl,” Kane said, leaning in so only Ava could hear.
Kane then released Ava’s hand. “I have to get back to the bridge. We will be making another leap within the hour.”
He turned toward Hailey. “Will you need assistance? I can ask Alex, Shelly, or Rebecca to assist.”
Ava was mortified at the thought of more people seeing her in this state, let alone possibly having to assist in dressing her.
Hailey gave Kane a look that said,
You think I can’t handle this?
Kane saw the look and immediately changed his mind.
“On second thought, you have things in hand,” he said, turning to leave.
Before the door finished opening for him, Hailey stopped him.
“Kane, or, uh, Captain, I mean.” Hailey glanced at Ava as she corrected herself. “Can you send Ethan down to help operate the lift? I never have any luck with that thing.”
Kane nodded. “Of course.”
He departed into the Main.
Ava’s face began to flush at the thought of Ethan seeing her in her underclothes.
“Okay, let’s get you dressed before the boy arrives and threatens your modesty,” Hailey said as she helped pull Ava into a sitting position.
The blanket fell away from Ava’s torso, revealing her right side covered in angry purple and blue bruises, partially concealed beneath fresh, clean bandages.
Hailey helped dress Ava in an oversized shirt with the left side cut open so she didn’t have to raise her hand to fit through the sleeve. Ava’s eyes widened when she saw her right leg after the cover was completely removed. Even with the bandages, she could see bruising peeking out, beginning at her upper thigh and running down to her calf.
Hailey rolled a fresh pair of warm socks onto Ava’s feet and up to her ankles.
“For the cold,” Hailey said.
Next came a pair of thick overalls. Hailey helped Ava swing her legs over the side of the table, then pulled the overalls up her legs and told Ava to carefully hop off the table into them.
Ava did her best to be careful. The table had been lowered, so it was only a matter of a few inches, but the drop still hurt.
Hailey helped pull the straps up and over Ava’s shoulders to keep the pants from succumbing to gravity. The right strap was adjusted more loosely to spare Ava additional discomfort. The lion’s share of the overalls’ weight was supported by Ava’s good shoulder.
Good in relative terms, Ava thought. It was the better of the two.
Ava was glad to be covered, even if the clothes were ill-fitting and not the coveralls she was accustomed to.
Ethan arrived a short while later. Hailey instructed him to lift Ava and carry her to the service elevator located at the aft end of the Main. He looked concerned when he saw Ava, but when instructed to carry her, he almost turned away. It seemed involuntary.
“Are you serious?” Ava asked, looking at Hailey and missing Ethan’s reaction entirely.
Hailey planted her hands on her hips. “I am not repeating myself.”
Ava sighed and surrendered herself to being cargo.
Ethan easily picked her up in his arms and carried her down the Main toward the elevator.
Ava relaxed against him, even burying her face against his shoulder when she fell victim to another bout of frustrated tears. Ethan didn’t say anything on the way to her cabin, but Hailey walked alongside them and talked the entire time.
Hailey explained that every morning she would help Ava clean herself and dress, but she would need help with Ava’s suit because Hailey wasn’t familiar enough with how it was supposed to feel or fit. Hailey suggested Alex, but Ava rejected the idea, instead suggesting Shelly. Hailey said she would check with her.
When they reached Ava’s cabin, the hatch opened, and Hailey walked inside, heading directly toward the bunk. She pulled the sheet down and patted the bed, signaling Ethan to place Ava there.
“Thank you, Ethan,” Hailey said.
“Of course. Whatever I can do,” Ethan replied.
He lingered for a moment, trying to decide something. He seemed to notice the silence and became uncomfortable with it.
“I need to go,” he said as he awkwardly turned and left.
Hailey watched him go. “Poor, sweet boy,” she said.
Then she turned toward Ava. “You won’t like this, but you are relieved from duty for the next three days.”
Ava shot into a sitting position and started to swing her feet over the side of the bunk, but Hailey placed her hand on Ava’s injured knee and gave it a quick squeeze.
Ava pulled away.
“Ava, your body is in no condition to do anything but rest right now,” Hailey assured her with what sounded like genuine sympathy.
Ava started to protest, but Hailey silenced her.
“No. If you rush this, you will reinjure yourself and be out for even longer. I need you to take this seriously so that your father has you when you are needed, so your team has you. You can travel the ship in your suit, but you will use the lift and not the ladders. You will focus on rest. Kane talked me into releasing you to light duty and called it rehabilitation. He suckered me. This time, we are doing it my way, and that is final.”
Ava listened in disbelief and shocked silence. She wanted to believe her father wouldn’t allow this. Deep down, she understood that Hailey was speaking with the captain’s authority. She even understood the necessity.
She still hated it.
Light duty had been an embarrassment, being useless while playing at having value.
Now she didn’t even have that.
“I’m sorry, Ava, but this is how it has to be. Just three days,” Hailey said.
Hailey turned to leave, but Ava stopped her.
“Wait,” Ava called.
“Yes?” Hailey asked.
She could hear the hurt and tears in Ava’s voice, and it broke her heart.
“I think I need to pee,” Ava said, realizing she had reached a new, humbling low.