Lully hopped off the hover and helped Joan unload materials and gear into the print bay. There were already bins marked to take out to the site and these they loaded quickly. Joan saluted him before getting back on the hover.
"So soon?" he inquired.
"I'll be back this evening," she promised. "But I can't leave all those people outside without tents or gear. That would be an uncomfortable night."
"See you soon," Lully told her.
He waved to Vertov who beckoned him to his office as Joan pulled the hover around and headed back out into the bright sunshine.
"First off, I'm sorry about how abruptly I wanted you to come in," Vertov told him. "I realize now how alarming that must have seemed. Sit, sit. You're not in trouble; I just need some information and I didn't want to message you incessantly."
Lully sat, though still felt like he was in a little bit of trouble.
"Dylan has brought up the need for a lieutenant," Vertov said. "Someone to oversee the projects and be apprised on base priorities as well as be the captain's second in command, and so second in command of the base. And I realized, you do that already. You know every department's budget, everyone's projects, anything pertinent to the future shape of the base."
"I don't want to be lieutenant," Lully cut in quickly.
"But Lully, that's what I'm saying. You are lieutenant of this base right now."
Lully's mouth gaped open. He understood what Vertov was saying, but since he had come into the conversation hoping to get out of being in printing altogether, he was not prepared to already be told he had another job. Was this how Levi had felt? Poor man.
"I want to take your position out of printing and make it the official lieutenant role of the base. And I'd like you to still fill that role. You do a good job, Lully. You were on top of the issue when there were extra guns on the base and you have kept the projects printing even when we were running out of materials. You're good at this."
Lully let out a nervous laugh and sat back in his chair. Vertov seemed so earnest, so passionate that if Lully didn't say his peace now, he would never get to. He didn't want to be lieutenant.
"I was going to ask to leave the printing after this meeting," Lully told his boss. "Joan and Curie asked Esperanza and I if we were interested, and after being out there, I do want to join exploration. They need a printer when they're too far from home to get the parts they need."
"Oh."
Vertov didn't elaborate, leaving Lully to ramble on.
"Being lieutenant would mean that I would have to stay here, wouldn't it? I don't want that."
"Why the sudden change?" Vertov asked. "Is it credits? The hours? Is there anything I could offer to make you stay?"
Lully rolled one shoulder. "Sir, yesterday I came to the same conclusion you did; I have too much power to influence the base. Dylan is my friend and she usually gets priority over other projects just as valuable. I'm not unbiased."
"Is that why you changed the queue last night?" Vertov cut in.
"I did. I realized that I wasn't being fair, and that Dylan specifically has no one to keep her from pushing her requests through. I don't want to be the stopgap; that's too much responsibility."
"Perhaps, but who would do it?" Vertov asked. "We're going to have an election in a week, and I know that Dashiell will most likely return to being captain. We need someone who can oversee our future alongside the captain, someone that all sides respect and trust. If not you, then who?"
Lully didn't have an answer. He knew what his job entailed and he knew that it could be sorely abused by the wrong person. But that didn't mean he wanted to stay on the base.
"It's only for a week more, until we really vote," Vertov added. "Please fill the role as it is now, and I promise we will find a suitable compromise if congress decides to keep you in this position. Pas mal?"
Lully blinked at him, but nodded. Reluctantly, he came to the conclusion that there was no way Vertov was going to let him out of being lieutenant, so he might as well accept it and get on congress to negotiate the terms later. This was a brand new position; no one had any rules. If he was lucky, he could still join exploration on an expedition or two; he could just request to join as lieutenant instead of begging Vertov to let him leave.
This could work out if he was careful.
Vertov smiled and reached over the desk to shake Lully's hand.
"Unfortunately this means you need to stay; we have a congress meeting tomorrow," Vertov explained. "I'm sure Esperanza will be fine for a couple nights."
Lully nodded, seeing that he had been tricked into staying away from Esperanza. He had just told Joan he wanted to stay out of congress, now he was, if Vertov was telling the truth, the second in command on the base. He definitely needed to call Esperanza the moment he got out of here.
"Do I get a badge?" he asked, mustering up a smile. "No one is going to believe me. My madre will try to take me to medical for a head injury."
"It won't be so bad," Vertov told him. "Merci beaucoup, Lully. I'll send you the details on the congress meeting."
"Is there anything else?" Lully inquired. "Any other responsibilities, any other catches I should know about?"
Vertov either didn't pick up on his tone or didn't care. "This role hasn't been defined past our need for a second in case something happens to me," he said. "It was Dylan's idea to have the lieutenant be the project manager."
"Oh."
Obviously it wasn't Dylan's fault that this had happened, but Lully felt it was like cosmic retaliation for his changing her print queue. That action had dropped him into this mess.
"I should finish up so I can send the printers home," Vertov said. "Thank you, Lully for coming back today. I know that it was short notice."
"Will you need me at all before tomorrow?" Lully asked.
"I don't think so," Vertov replied. "Go on, enjoy the day. I hear that Tyson organized a baskets game."
"Without me?" Lully scoffed. "Impossible. See you tomorrow, sir."
"See you tomorrow."
Lully got up and hurried out of the printing bay, grabbing his bag as he left. He pulled up Esperanza's contact on his holo-rib and called her, sighing as he did so. Hopefully he would get to the berth before announcing it to the eavesdropping corridors. He punched in his code and made it inside his berth before Esperanza picked up.
"Lully! You made it to the base all right? How did your meeting go?"
"Um, Vertov won't let me join exploration yet," he told her. "Also, he wants me to be lieutenant."
"Okay, what is that?"
"Second in command."
"Of printing?" Esperanza sounded confused. Lully didn't blame her.
"Of the base," he explained. "He wants me to be second in command of the base."
She didn't say anything for a long moment. Lully could hear Oliver and Harriet laughing in the background, so he knew that hadn't been disconnected.
"Petal?" he questioned.
"You said yes," she said, not asking it like a question. "Why? I thought you wanted to be out here."
"It's only for a week; until congress votes on the real lieutenant," he promised, knowing full well how stupid that sounded to his own ears. "It's going to work in our favor; he wants to turn my printing job into the lieutenant position. So I'll be free to join exploration after."
"What if they vote for you to stay? Like they did to Levi?"
"Then we'll figure it out," he soothed. "Esperanza, what's wrong? I didn't think this would upset you this much."
He heard her sigh. "We talked about stepping away from politics and now you're in the middle of it. I don't want this, Lully."
"Petal, I don't either, I promise," he said. "This doesn't change us. This doesn't change our plans, it's just delays them. I'll be careful."
She sighed again. "Okay. Thank you for calling. When will you back?"
"Tomorrow, after the congress meeting," he told her. "That was surprise to me too. But I'm going talk to Dylan and see if I can in front of this and find someone else who would be better suited. Otherwise I will be stuck in this position."
"I'll see you tomorrow then," she said. "Stay out of trouble."
"Always do, petal," he laughed.
He threw his stuff down and changed shirts before headed out again to the main call where hopefully the baskets game was happening. He didn't really feel like playing, but if that was where Dylan was, then he definitely needed to speak with her.
He could hear the sounds of cheering and running before he walked into the room. The game paused when he entered. Tyson grinned at him.
"Did you come back because we were playing without you?" he laughed.
"Maybe," Lully joked and cracked his neck. "Can I join next game?"
"We'll have to vote on it," Keller told him mischievously.
Lully rolled his eyes and moved around the game to sit in the makeshift audience section. Walsh was slicing apples and there were a couple plates of cookies sitting out.
"Weren't you out at the mining site?" Walsh inquired.
"Vertov needed to meet about print queues," Lully explained, unwilling to announce that he was lieutenant of the base without any sort of vote.
"Oh, Dylan didn't get you in trouble, did she?"
"Non, it was unrelated. I'm headed back out tomorrow. Poor Emerson had been looking forward to a real bed. I've found I truly like it out there."
"Too bad you aren't in exploration," Walsh mused.
"Not yet anyway," Lully agreed. "So you're not playing?"
Walsh snorted. "Lully, I'd break my leg or something equally rotated. Dylan asked me to come and so I have. It's entertaining and Alcott's cookies are delicious. I had nothing better happening with my weekend, and Turing and I have been having a great time."
"True," Turing agreed.
"Why aren't you playing?" Lully asked.
Turing scoffed and leaned back in his seat to grab another cookie. "Because I'd much rather watch Florence than trip my way up and down the floor. She's having a fun time, and there's three plates of cookies over here."
Walsh's holo-rib chimed and he glanced at it, frowning at the message.
"Everything pas mal?" Lully inquired. "Sorry if I'm prying."
"Non," Walsh said slowly. "Levi just asked to spend the night at my berth. And Dylan looked...worrisome when she came in with Tyson. I don't know what happened between them but it has me concerned. Have you heard anything?"
"I just got back," Lully admitted. "Sorry. Perhaps you'll hear from Levi tonight."
"Hopefully," Walsh sighed.
____
Hilariously, I came to the same conclusion as Vertov; Lully has been lieutenant all along. I didn't want to make that official because I knew he wouldn't like it, but such is life. I was pretty sure that Dylan was going to end up being lieutenant, but perhaps next week with the vote Lully will be ousted, but that will be (probably) in the next book.
Lully has always been my stable, plot conscious character, but this book he's... made some of his own decisions. I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. Thanks for reading!