The Line of the Sol Empress

Chapter 2.2

[Moon]

Celeste limped onto the bridge, clenching her jaw and casting Moon an icy glare. He turned back to watch her while reclining in the captain's chair, his feet resting on a display panel and his fingers linked behind his head. She drew her eyebrows together, gritted her teeth, and lashed out with her voice. "What is this on my leg?" Lifting her left foot, she shook the thick black ring that encircled the ankle. Two small green lights blinked from it.

Lifting an eyebrow, he said, "Oh, hey. Have a good nap? You are looking better now."

Folding her arms, she intensified her glare, with eyes blazing.

Moon swiveled his chair and sat upright. "Oh, yeah, the ankle bracelet. Besides being a fashionable accessory for stowaways, it allows my ship AI to monitor you. And if you should threaten me or the ship, to give you a very uncomfortable shock. I would stay away from critical equipment and controls if I were you."

She seethed, clenching her fists. "I am your passenger, not your prisoner!"

"Of course. This is just a reasonable precaution, given that you are an alleged terrorist and that pointing a gun at me thing. Don't you think?"

"Arggh!" She stomped out.

Moon sighed and spoke while looking up at the ceiling. "Sai, have your robot minions moved the junk out of the spare cabin for her?"

"Work is still in progress." The AI paused. "Sir, if I may ask, is our guest unhappy?"

He nodded. "Yup. Definitely grumpy."

"Is it something about the condition of the ship?"

Moon smiled as he shook his head. "It's not you at all, Sai. It's me. I seem to have that effect on women sometimes." He blew out a breath. "Maybe I should be a little nicer."

*****

Celeste sat cross-legged on the floor of the galley with her eyes closed and palms turned up while Moon perched on a high stool set before a long table. The stools, like the table, were secured to the floor. A plas-steel composite with gray satin sheen made up most surfaces in the galley. As he watched her draw slow measured breaths in and out, she opened her warm cinnamon eyes and lifted her gaze to his. 

She is pretty when not so intense.

He broke out of the enchantment. "Umm, what are you doing?"

"Meditation. It helps me relax and focus. You should try it."

"I prefer ale, although it is usually counter-productive on the focus part." He tipped his head toward her. "Want some?"

Rising from the floor, she said, "Yes, I would."

His eyes widened. "You would?"

She sat on a stool across the table from him. "You think Sol Priestesses don't drink? We do, just not to excess."

"Sometimes that is the point." He bent down to extract two unlabeled brown bottles from a chiller cabinet at the back of the galley and placed one before her.

Celeste popped the lid open and took a sip. Her lips formed a circle. "Is this Ceti ale? I thought export was prohibited. How did you acquire this?"

"I am impressed that you know ales. As to your second question, let's just say that I sometimes engage in, well, unregistered trading."

"Why am I not surprised at that?" She rolled her eyes.

"Look, we are going to be cooped up on this ship together for over a hundred earth-days. Let's agree to be civil with each other."