SIREN

Chapter Twenty-Five

'I'm going back to the Eagle to nap,' the Captain announced to the room as she touched down on the ground floor. She carried on walking and pointed to our mechanic. 'I'm leaving Jaq in charge, so if any of you need anything, talk to her.'

'Leader!' The Conductor exclaimed, wagging his lanky arms, 'you cannot leave yet! You have much to see!'

'Seeing my ship torn apart isn't fun. I'm also tired. I haven't slept in, let me see...' She checked the chunky plastic watch on her wrist, 'look at that! Twenty-four hours. I'm also starving, so I'm going to chew on some nutri-bars and then sleep.'

The Conductor moved his attention to Jaq, who was watching the flitting white dots zip around above her head. 'You are the Leader now? But you are an engineer.'

'Il ne faut pas se fier aux apparences,' Jaq spat back.

'Français?' The Conductor responded in a perfect Parisian accent. I swayed a little in shock at how faultless it was.

'Bien!' she replied, 'but, for everyone else's sake, lets talk in English, oui?'

'Phew!' Sam sighed. He laughed and said, 'all I can say in French is, "Hello", "goodbye", "thank you" and "death".'

'As I keep telling you, if you want to learn, I'll teach.' Jaq didn't even look down. She kept her eyes locked on the hologram.

'Doctor,' the Captain growled, 'with me.' She grabbed his buttocks and aimed a sly wink in my direction. I folded my lips around my teeth and raised my eyebrows. It wasn't like the Captain to be quite so brazen about her love life.

The couple moved to the doorframe. Captain Maximova stopped and pointed at The Conductor. She opened her mouth to say something. Her face shifted from a look of determination to an expression of tiredness, and with her shoulders slumped and eyes half-shut, she turned on her heel and left without saying a word. Seconds later, I heard Doctor White's mischievous laugh echo from the tunnel.

I considered moving, but being up so high and watching everything unfold below me gave me a sense of detachment. I didn't have to chime into any conversations, and I didn't have to worry about blurting out something silly. I was tired, just like the Captain, but instead of feeling exhausted I felt fulfilled. We'd completed the mission and now I could let my brain rest.

'So...' Sam made clicking sounds with his tongue and rolled his eyes. 'What now?'

'Reclamation is almost complete. I have engineered a way to use your engines. We will depart soon.'

'Terrific,' he replied with a smile that quickly fell from his lips.

'Isn't The Conductor so clever? He's done all this for us, and so quickly, too!' Hoshi raved, 'I think he's amazing.'

The Conductor ignored the praise and edged his body over to Jaq. 'I have a question about your vessel. Are you in a position to answer it?'

'Why wouldn't I be?' she said. I barely heard her voice from atop the platform. The urge to move rose inside me. I could sense tension in the air.

'Your engines are instable, dangerous and toxic,' The Conductor dipped one of his fingers into the hologram and the remains of the Pangaea's hull swelled in size. 'They also do not contain enough power within them for you to leave your system. Did you create them like this intentionally?'

Jaq's snort was so loud that it reverberated off the curved walls. 'À cheval donné on ne regarde pas les dents.'

'I am unsure of the connection between a horse and your ship.'