It sounded so hesitant, like having a friend was an alien concept, that part of her wanted to hug him all over again. She resisted, the rejection of a few moments before making it easier. She turned to watch C chase one of his sisters from one hiding place to another. “I’d be thrilled to meet them. But before we do, we’ve got to give the cats proper names.”
His smile was wistful as he watched the cats through the window. “That seems fair.”
The hatch, to Meja’s surprise, was in the ceiling. From the way Layth and the rest of the Sentinel’s crew referred to engineering as “down,” she’d been expecting a door in the floor. But no, Layth led her to a ladder heading decidedly up.
The doctor stopped and checked the straps on her makeshift harness, making sure that B—Bennet, she had to remind herself—was fastened in securely. His touch was quick and impersonal, and left her wishing she hadn’t upset him with the ill-timed hug of a few days ago.
“I should warn you,” he said, voice serious. “It can be an uncomfortable experience, even if you’re prepared for it.”
“You’re full of reassurances today.” Earlier, he’d warned that they should only take the one cat, since there was no telling how they might respond in the core’s microgravity. At least it had been easy to find a sitter for the other two. Hicks had been happy to sneak them into her quarters, where they were no doubt being spoiled rotten. “What’s next? Being in the core causes cancer?”
He offered a weak smile. “Only if the shielding on the reactor mass has degraded too much.”
“That’s not helpful.” She ran a hand over Bennet’s head, surprised the cat was so mellow about being carried around in a chest harness. Then again, B had always been the calmest of the three cats. That’s why she’d chosen her for the visit.
“It’s unlikely. We replaced it last year, and they’re good for a decade or more.” He turned and started up the ladder. “You’re going to feel like you’re slipping down the ladder, until you aren’t.”
She followed him up, surprised at how accurate his description was. Each rung of the ladder felt slippery, like she was being tugged back down toward the floor. She knew it was an effect of the centrifugal forces that served as a false gravity on the ship, but her inner ear, and mind, converted it into a queasy vertigo that rumbled her stomach and left a sour taste in the back of her throat.
Desperate for someplace else to focus, she kept her eyes on Layth. The doctor’s hands and feet were sure as he pulled himself up the ladder, and the fabric of his trousers stretched taut across his backside with each rung. She shouldn’t stare, and certainly knew she shouldn’t ogle, but it was hard not to. His posterior bordered on perfect, and she kept reminding herself there was nowhere else to look on the ladder.
At least each step got easier. The forces of the ship’s rotation tugged a little less, and her body felt lighter as they climbed. Bennet mewed curiously, her whiskers twitching as the artificial gravity went lower.
At the other end of the ladder, she was floating. She’d already overcompensated twice and had to grab the ladder and the walls of the passageway to keep from rocketing into Layth. At least he was a good sport about the whole thing, more concerned about her comfort than the speed of their ascent. Descent. Whichever.
Whatever she’d been inclined to expect from the rest of the ship, engineering was not it. The cramped quarters of the main part of the Sentinel were practically generous by comparison. Every available space had been claimed, either for storage, work, or rest. Heavy nylon webbing formed nets that both enabled movement and secured things in place. And in the center of the room was April.
Meja understood that true belters, the ones who had spent generations in space, had significant physiological differences. That hadn’t prepared her for how tall April actually was. The engineer was easily two and a half meters; the height was amplified by their elongated limbs and general thinness. The scientist in her wanted to ask all kinds of probing questions. How long could they take higher gravities? How much oxygen was too much?
Instead, she realized she was staring and stopped.
“April, this is Meja Aquarone.” Layth’s voice seemed loud in the small space. “Meja, this is the Sentinel’s chief engineer, April.”
“And this…” she smiled as she tugged the cat free from the harness on her chest, “…is Bennet. Do you want to say hello?”
She’d been prepared for an exuberant response, though she doubted anything would surpass Hicks’s constant excitement to see the kittens. Even the hulking security officer, Barr, had been surprised and excited by the sight of the animals. By contrast, April was fascinated but moved closer with an exaggerated slowness. “How are they handling the microgravity?”
“Not actually sure. I haven’t unwrapped her yet.” She finished unswaddling Bennet and released her carefully. Bennet responded by twisting her hips rapidly, as though she were falling and trying to get her feet under her. The violent movement made the cat spin in the space, and April caught her out of the air with their long-fingered hands.
“Careful. You’re not falling, you’re floating.” They stroked the cat’s back, relaxing her. After placing her on top of one hand, April slowly released the cat a second time. “See? You’re okay. You can do this.”
“I’ll be damned. Maybe you should work with them.” Layth’s voice captured the amazement Meja felt. Sure enough, Bennet wasn’t twisting. She just floated in space, otherwise perfectly content.
“I can make tea, if anyone wants any.” April smiled as they watched the cat, addressing the room. “No biscuits, unfortunately. Though I have tortillas.”
Layth leaned close. “Crumbs are hard to manage in microgravity, so crumbly baked goods are out.”
“Ah.” She nodded at the explanation then turned to her host. “Tea would be lovely, thanks.”
They moved to one end of the long room, heating pouches and bringing them back for the group. As they handed one to her, April showed her where the milk and sugar capsules were located inside the bag. Drinking from a squeeze pouch was tricky, but she quickly figured it out. “So how long have you and Layth known each other?”
“I met him when he first came aboard the Sentinel. What, a year ago?”
Layth nodded. “About that, yeah.”
“Baker, my colleague, had been injured the same week. He spent a lot of time down here treating her so she wouldn’t have to manage the ladder on one leg.”
“Something I was willing to do for you too.” Layth’s tone belied his words, a friendly level of concern rather than any real anger. “Speaking of, how’s the head?”
The engineer reached up one hand to touch a bandage on their forehead. “Everything seems to be healing nicely. Thank you.” They turned to include her in the exchange again. “I caught my scalp on an exposed bolt. There was a lot of bleeding, but no real danger, despite the way he frets.”
She smiled at their effort. “I’d rather have a concerned doctor than an indifferent one. You should see the play area he built for the cats, so they don’t lose muscle mass.”