SIREN

Chapter Three

'Ah! Here he comes! Our sleeping beauty!' I heard the Captain shout in her thick Russian accent. 'Finally come to join us have you?'

'I thought I'd come and see the damage. What've you broken so far?' I replied as I drifted into the room.

'Broken? You think I'd break one of these monitors?' Olga Maximova, a woman with a sharp haircut and a sharper tongue, glided up through the air and stopped just a few feet away from me. She folded her arms over her tank top and scowled. 'You're late.'

'Doctor White wanted to talk to me for a little bit.'

'Hum,' The Captain squinted at me.

'Has anything else malfunctioned?' I bobbed my head and tried to catch a look at the collection of screens behind her. Hundreds of flickering blue squares cast a soft glow over the spherical room, bathing everything in a soft turquoise hue.

'Not to my knowledge,' she said, 'but then again, I'm not the technician around here.'

'How is she, Captain?'

Captain Maximova took a breath through her nose. 'Stable,' She said, bowing her head. 'She's down there, if you want to talk to her.'

'Is Sam with her?'

'Yeah, why?'

'Oh, I have to deliver a message. Doctor White has his vest.'

'Those two should stop sharing clothes,' The Captain said. 'It's unhygienic.'

'How many times have you told them that?' I brushed past her and stepped off the platform, descending slowly towards the bottom of the room. I rotated my body as I fell, taking in the full majesty of The Eye with its neat workstations and high-tech gadgets. I'd been inside it hundreds of times, but the complexity of the room always impressed me.

'Too many,' she said, joining my side. 'Did you see Jaq on the way?'

'She's doing what she does best.' I smiled. 'A chaque oiseau son nid est beau.'

'I don't speak French, Fletcher, I've told you that before. I speak Russian and English, talk to me in either.'

'Sorry,' I said, passing a computer displaying a 3D render of the ship. The sleek design of the Pangaea caught my eye and I grinned in admiration. Every piece of the ship had an important function, and yet it never lost its captivating form. The outer hull of the Pangaea was inspired by birds of prey, which led to beautiful curves and contours. 'Has there been any change to the transmission?'

'None that we can make out, but you and Hoshi could tell us for sure and she's obviously indisposed right now.'

'Yeah. I'll take a look, but I want to say hello to her first.' I wrapped my hands around a railing and flipped my body over so my feet pointed downwards. I threw myself down and made contact with the floor.

'Morning,' said a gruff voice.

'Hey Sam,' I said, spotting a burly man with his arms crossed. He was staring into a screen, peering at the numbers. 'Doctor White has got your vest, by the way.'

'Figures.' He grumbled as he itched his beard.

Someone behind me said, 'Hey Tommy!'

I turned to see Hoshi smiling at me. 'Hey you!' I said, hugging her tight. 'How're you feeling?'

'Yeah, I... I got into an accident. I'm okay, though.' She said, brushing her fringe out of her eyes. She gave a brief smile and then scuttled away.

'Sounded a little worse than an accident. Doctor White said you got trapped.'

'I, um...' Hoshi clicked her fingers and closed her eyes. 'Yeah, the thing, it...' She struggled for words and then sighed. 'Sorry. I can't remember things that well right now. My... The front bit of the brain... Doctor White said something about a lobe.'

I rubbed her back and did my upmost to give a smile. 'It's okay.'

'It's not okay!' she fussed. 'Who else is going to fix all the gadgets and keep an eye on Matron? Jaq can handle the...' She cussed and waved her hands in frustration, 'the Janitors! But I'm the technician here and I can't do my job!'

'She's right,' Sam said, shaking his head. 'I can't work any of this out. I know computers, but this is something else. I don't know what I'm looking at.'

The Captain grunted. She hovered above us and said, 'we'll work something out. Right now, I need everyone to work together. That means that Tommy gets to his post, Sam unpacks the cargo, and Hoshi does what she can. Is that understood?'

'Yes, captain!' we all said in unison.

She swung her legs and rose to a higher platform whilst Sam moved next to me and leaned into my ear. 'Call the Doc if she gets worse.'

'You're that worried?'

'We've almost reached Neptune and our electronics expert can't remember what year it is. Yes, Tommy, I'm worried.'

'You know Doctor White isn't a medical doctor, right?' I said, watching Hoshi busy herself beside a monitor. She pressed her fingers against a keyboard and pouted.

'I know,' Sam admitted, 'but what choice do we have?'

'None, I suppose. Hey, has Hoshi made contact with Earth yet? I mean, more than diagnostic pings.'

'Tommy,' Sam grimaced and bore down on me, 'I know you have that stiff upper lip attitude, but people don't bounce back as fast as you. Give her a minute.'

'Just wondering, that's all.' I nudged Sam in the arm. 'I'm sure your girlfriend would like to hear from you.'

'Oh yeah, like I'm going to rush to hear another lecture on how this mission is a stupid idea. "Why are you going? I don't understand! Why not send a probe?" Then I'd have to explain, for the thousandth time, how the brass want us to investigate things in person.' Sam took a deep breath and pushed off with his legs, following Captain Maximova's route. 'I'm telling you, Teabags, my lady is nothing but trouble. Anyway, let's get to work. Keep me updated, yeah?'

'Got it, Pancakes.'

He scowled at me. 'Really?'

'What? Hey, tell me you did bring some maple syrup? You Canadians always keep a supply, right?'

'Sure,' Sam used his rotund arms to pull himself towards the doorway, 'piss off the weapons expert. See how far that gets you.'

'Sam, remember to check on Jaq,' I heard the Captain call out, 'I don't like how she spends so much time alone.'

'Yeah, yeah...' Sam's voice echoed as he drifted away.