The Robotmen of Andromeda

Chapter Five: Andromeda Bound

Anne sat in the spacious lounge of the docking frigate that had been dispatched to repair the Silver Starliner. She was watching the repair crews work when Jett sat down across from her with two cups of coffee.

"I would have gotten food, but I wasn't sure what you wanted," Jett said as she placed a cup in front of Anne.

"This is fine," Anne said with a distracted smile. "Thank you." She took a sip.

"Light and sweet, right?" Jett's smile was a bit more hopeful.

Anne nodded.

They drank their coffees while an awkward silence hovered around, not quite ready to settle over them completely.

"Doesn't look like much work needs doing," Jett said, gesturing toward the repairs that Anne was still watching.

"No," Anne said.

"Should be on our way in a couple of hours."

"Great."

"So, not too far behind schedule."

Anne put her cup down and looked at Jett. "Are we on a schedule?"

Jett swallowed and offered a nervous grin. Her right leg began to bounce, and she looked around the lounge, out the window, at her coffee... anywhere but Anne, and the eyes that bored into her. "Uh, well, no," she stammered. "Not, y'know, as such, but... Tau Ceti is only the first port of call for the Silver Starliner, and the other passengers might have... um..." She suddenly found something incredibly fascinating about a small chip in the surface of the table.

"So," Anne said after a moment, "are we going to talk about it, or will you be doing this routine for the rest of the trip? Not that it isn't entertaining, but I imagine it will grow dull through repetition." She sipped her coffee.

Jett stared at the table a moment longer, then sighed. She looked up at Anne. "Annie, I..." She scowled. "Fine," she said. "Yes. Those Robotmen were there to kill me."

"Yeah," Anne said. "I got that bit. The part I'm still scratching my head over is why."

"I built something," Jett said, "for the Patrol."

"What did you build?"

"An intergalactic stardrive."

Anne nearly spit her coffee. "What?!"

Jett smiled. "You heard right," she said. "I invented an engine that will allow a ship to travel to other galaxies even faster than we travel to other solar systems."

"Ah," Anne said. "That would allow the Patrol to send ships to Andromeda."

"Exactly," Jett grinned and sipped her coffee. "We can finally go on the offensive."

"So," Anne said, "the Robotmen found out, got a ship past the blockade, and..."

Jett pointed out the window, to the hull breach currently under repair.

"Were you planning on telling me?" Anne asked.

"Of course I was," Jett said. "I mean, it's a highly classified project, but I was still going to tell you. I just..." She reached across the table and took Anne's hand in hers. "I wanted to talk about us first."

Anne smiled, brought Jett's hand to her lips and kissed it. "Good answer," she said.

They drank their coffee in a far more comfortable silence for a while, then Anne asked, "Do I get to see it?"

Jett winked. "Where do you think we're going?"

They were back on the ship and underway within an hour, and the remainder of their journey passed without incident. Upon arriving at Tau Ceti, they disembarked and made for a section of the port facility that housed private ships. Agents of the Conglomerate were questioning passengers about the Robotmen attack, but Anne flashed her pentacle and the two women walked on without delay. Jett led Anne to a small shuttle, which she flew to an uninhabited planet. She docked at an orbital facility and after a bit of a walk, followed by more security than Anne had ever seen in her entire career as a Magi, they entered a large vessel in one of the facility's hangers.