“I appreciate your making an exception for me,” she said, shaking hands.
“It’s an honor. What exactly did you want to see?” Eyes narrowed, towering over the petite passenger, Owen cast a glance around his domain as if puzzled what to offer her.
Biting her lip, Gianna displayed unusual hesitation. “I—I’m not exactly sure. I think mostly I wanted to see what an undamaged cargo hold would look like. Oh and a peek inside the bonded stores area, please.”
Owen frowned but Trevor had spoken to him twice and knew the captain had given permission for a brief trip into the locked area. Making an expansive gesture, the cargo master indicated the broad expanse of Level Eighteen. “Well? Does my deck match up to what you expected?”
Gianna stepped past him, remaining within the glowing line on the deck which indicated a safe zone for noncrew. She peered the length of the deck, watching a small hauler move a huge container bearing the bright red and purple insignia of Loxton Galactic Shipping. “It’s all very shipshape and organized. And undamaged. When I was here, I mean on the Nebula Dream’s deck, the containers were all over the place, some broken and crushed and the smaller hauler was on its side, on fire. We didn’t spend much time out here. Nick wanted his blasters, I guess, so we went straight to the enclosed area.”
Trevor knew from the classified records Nick Jameson had been after something else besides his weapons but it wasn’t his job to correct her. And maybe as a child she hadn’t understood what the true goal of the side trip had been.
“And Twilka wanted her jewelry.” Gianna’s amusement at the memory was obvious. “Which she never did find.”
Pleased this field trip didn’t seem to be upsetting her the way the pantry had or even the observatory, Trevor touched her elbow. “We mustn’t take up too much of Owen’s time. Can we see the bonded stores now?”
“This way.” The cargo master set off across the deck and they followed him. Moby the cat took no further interest in the goings-on but Midorri continued to maintain her perch on Verlaine’s back. Since the hound wasn’t complaining or acting tired, Trevor let it go. When the small procession reached the locked gate to the special area, Owen scooped the alien pet up and set her on the deck a foot or two away. “You know you’re not allowed in here and don’t think you can camouflage yourself enough to make me miss the fact you’re riding the dog.”
“Tajikka hound,” Gianna corrected. “He needs to stay with me.”
“No problem.” Gesturing at Midorri, who was sitting on her haunches and giving him a wide-eyed innocent stare, he said, “This furry mischief maker likes to acquire things and stash them in her pouch, hiding her prizes in nests here and there on the damn ship. Maeve and I have to do a periodic recon to see what she’s hoarded now.” Owen chuckled good naturedly.
With a chirrup, Midorri changed color to match the gray of the deck and trotted away, making good time on her six legs.
Owen unlocked the entry and allowed them to precede him, relocking the gate behind him. “I’ve no idea what all is in here,” he said. “Whatever passengers don’t want in their cabins but believe is too valuable to simply ship as luggage or cargo. The Purser has a database and I can check it if I so desire but the process is all routine and we’ve never had problems with any of this.”
“We didn’t either,” Gianna said, walking along the edge of the storage, her gaze passing over the many bags, boxes and containers. Then she turned briskly, nearly falling over Verlaine, who hadn’t anticipated her sudden change of direction and both came back to Trevor and Owen. “Thank you for your time and for letting me see this.”
Owen gave Trevor a puzzled glance but let them out of the stores and escorted them to the gravlift across the vast deck like a host whose guests were unaccountably leaving the party early. “My wife and I will be at the dinner tonight,” he said as they prepared to leave. “Looking forward to it.”
“Will the pets be there?” Gianna said with a laugh, eyeing Midorri, who was lingering a few feet away, her camouflage not too effective.
“Hardly. Fleming gave us permission to keep them on board but we figure it’s best not to remind him too often of their existence,” Owen said. “Moby in particular got herself in trouble not long ago.” He shuddered as if the details were too grim to recite.
“All’s well that ends well,” Trevor said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Even the passenger in question accepted the Line’s apologies.”
Gianna looked from one to the other. “All right, you have to share now you’ve gotten my curiosity up. What happened?”
“Let’s just say the cat was transfixed by the sight of a person with butterflies on her head instead of hair,” Trevor said. “The lure of the chase was too much for Moby.”
She stepped into the silvery grav stream and he followed. “You didn’t seem too satisfied down there,” he said as they rose toward Level A.
Gianna shrugged. “I’m not sure what I was hoping to see. It was all clean, gray and industrial and efficient today. I remember our time there on the Nebula Dream as exciting and maybe even fun, if a child can be permitted to enjoy an isolated moment of time in the midst of an awful catastrophe.” She did a pirouette in the antigrav since they had the tube to themselves and grinned. “Not everything can be as dramatic as the pantry was. Or as beautiful as the observatory.”
Trevor had to be satisfied with the non-answer. He was happy to see her in such a good mood.
The rest of the day was uneventful. Gianna had her appointment with the doctor and emerged from the office in a positive frame of mind, saying only Dr. Shane had been understanding and asked a lot of good questions, which would require more thought. “She said resolving the kinds of issues I have is really work, and most people don’t understand the commitment required. She wants me to assess whether I’m prepared to invest the time and mental energy, or if I’d prefer to let the memories and my emotions simmer along in the current state.”
They were strolling from the sickbay to her cabin to get things for another trip to the beach level. “Are you going to pursue it after this voyage?” Trevor asked. He’d been given the same advice by the military therapists and Emily. Of course none of them had any visibility into the core of his true problem because he’d never divulge those traumas. He felt the burning which arose in his nerve endings whenever he allowed himself to dwell too much on his secrets and hastily forced his mind and attention into a better direction—the joy he’d experienced the night before, in bed with Gianna. Those memories were safe and untouchable. Precious.
Verlaine bumped into him and he patted the hound’s head perfunctorily.
“Dr. Shane said she can give me recommendations for people to talk to.” Distracted by the display of glittering minauderie purses in the shop she was passing, Gianna shrugged. “I think if I could talk to her regularly, it might help. I’m not so sure about working with a complete stranger.” She paused as if ready to return to the store. “I wonder if I could translate my design elements into an item like those purses? I’ve always adored light hearted accessories.” Shaking her head, she walked on. “Maybe I’ll talk to Twilka about it when we’re at my brother’s wedding, see if she’d like to collaborate on a line.”