The transport's hum changed, and I felt it decelerate. I opened my eyes and glanced up. We had arrived at the platform where we would meet the CMC. There she stood waiting, diminutive in her bulky Vac-Uniform.
The transport came to a stop and its doors opened. I stood unsteady and saluted the CMC as she entered. She returned my salute as she boarded the pod. I gestured for Su to take a seat. She sat easily. I sat uncomfortably opposite her, and the pod departed.
'You look like that uniform is torturing you.'
'It is.' I said and squirmed, attempting to get comfortable.
She smiled and asked. ' You didn't perform a customization routine?'
'Err. No, I didn't.'
'How come?'
'I hobbled it on without reading the user manual.' I felt rather idiotic now.
She relaxed into the seat. 'It's been that kind of couple of days, hasn't it?' Her eyes became distant as she spoke.
'For me, it's been that couple of years,' I said; surprised by the words coming from my mouth.
She frowned at the words I spoke.
'I am sorry about your loss.'
[Stalker.] Bob commented. I gave him Seki's "shut up, or I'll smack you" look.
'Uhm. Thanks.'
'I sound like a Trojan, don't I?' she asked, looking as uncomfortable as I felt.
I smiled stiffly for a moment before I spoke. 'We've never had personal conversations.' I said, staring out the pod's window. There was a period of uncomfortable silence between us. It was Su that broke the tense quiet.
'Now is a great opportunity to start.'
I chuckled and said. 'That's the point of this little meet.'
A look of disbelief flooded her face. 'Really?'
'Yes, really. It's long overdue.' I tried to stretch, which was difficult in this uniform. 'I have re-read your records, and they're impeccable.'
'Is that a bad thing?' She asked, fidgeting.
'No. They don't teach me anything about you.'
'Are you sure it doesn't scream "Space lawyer"?' She asked and winced.
'It crossed my mind.' Su's posture stiffened at my statement. 'However, you have done nothing to suggest you are a space lawyer.' I tried to adjust my posture and pain shot up from my groin.
'Argh. I have had enough of this thing. Give me a minute to adjust this blasted suit.'
'Take all the time you need.' She said, blushed and looked away.
[She is blushing.] Bob said and snickered with childlike glee. I ignored him with extreme prejudice.
'Thanks.' I accessed the suit's user manual and scanned the personalization procedure. I stood and took a T pose and initialized the customization routine. The suit ran its operations, and I felt immediate relief. I felt the bulk of the uniform, but I moved naturally now. Well, as natural as one can while wearing five kilos of rubberized fabric, metal and plastic.
I sat down with ease this time. 'Yes, much better. Where were we?'
'Space Lawyers.' Su mono-toned as she stared out the cabin.
'I think it's necessary to be reminded of the regs as a senior officer. It keeps us mindful of our charges, even if we don't like it.'
The tension in her posture faded. 'I agree.'
'So. Anything about yourself you want to share that I can't glean from reading your records?'
'You once saved somebody important to me.'
'I did?'
'Yes, my half brother.'
'When?'
'The Marathon rescue mission.'
'I see,' I whispered and my heart dive bombed my stomach.
'I am sorry.' She looked down at her hands. 'I know it was a dark period for you.'
I took a deep breath. 'The universe is often just effed. There is no fault, it is how it is.' I gazed out of the cabin, looking at but not seeing the tube walls flash past.
'Your daring saved seven people from slow, certain death. Before that incident, "search and rescue" operations were about retrieving corpses. You and your crew were an inspiration to many.' She paused. 'Including me. When I found out that you would be in charge of a crew on this ship, I went for it.'
'How does the myth compare with the man?' I asked. My voice bitter.
'He is better.' The dead certainty in her voice shook me.
I looked at her and felt my ears get warm from embarrassment. 'Oh. I see.'
[Now you're blushing.] I ignored Bob, barely.
'There I go, sounding like a Trojan again.' She blushed again, deeper this time.
[Now she is blushing again. This is too cute.] He was flat out laughing now.
Grr. Bob quit it or leave. I mentally shouted at him. He stopped laughing and looked at me for a second. He then cracked up, laughing harder than before. Unable to control himself, he left laughing on his own accord. With Bob gone, I could focus again.
'Just a little.' I said, smiled, and I showed her my left thumb and index finger, almost touching. We both chuckled and the tension evaporated.
'Eric Chen. He is your half brother?'
'He is. Or maybe was.' She said, frowned and went quiet.
'We don't know all the details, don't "was" him yet.'
'I know that. But...'
'The uncertainty is black hole heavy,' I said as I mirrored her thoughts. 'He is a wizard of resourcefulness. If there is anybody who can survive, it would be him. Where was he stationed?'
'He is in command of a resupply ship headed to the Venus's Echo repeater. They were still a month out when all went dark.'
'Okay, give me a minute.' I opened the SIM that I had run previously and added her brother's ship's projected location. I shared it with Su.
'His ship is nowhere close to any gravitational anomalies. So the odds are he and his crew are safe.' His command, incidentally, was the Helios, my old ship from the Marathon incident.
She looked relieved. 'I never thought to check that myself.'
'With all that has been going on, did you have time to focus on it?'
'No.'
The hum of the pod changed as we approached our destination.
'Well, CMC, back to the grind.'
'It appears so.'
The transport came to a stop and its door opened. Su and I exited the vehicle on our way to what was going to be an interesting display.