Coffee Cup Dreams (A Redpoint One Romance) (23 page)

"I knew of this."

Her head jerked up. She stared at him through
her tears. "What?"

"My brother told me in a private note
including the details of your 'psi event,'" He said with a shrug.
He didn't look the least bit worried. Only confused when he looked
at her.

She continued to stare at him, uncertain how
to interpret his reaction, but unable to look away. "You knew all
this time?"

He set the bottle down with a soft smile.
"Tish, many of us are borderline psi. It seems to be the one
commonality among all of us. I have a personal theory it helps us
communicate with the bots and station."

"That's the problem. I don't know what
happened. They say I died on the operating table, and then woke up
in a psi event while still dead," Tish said in a rush. "What if I
have another one? What if all these supposed mental gifts turn on
and I can't control them? What if I hurt someone?"

"A person doesn't spontaneously have powers
strong enough to harm others. Apparently you had something hidden
that came out in a time of stress," Arthur said with another shrug.
He studied her face. "Did anything happen today, a new 'psi
event?'"

She quickly shook her head. "No."

"Yesterday?"

"No, nothing. Unless you call suddenly knowing
what the station needed an 'episode.'"

"I call that being a good maintenance
engineer." He picked up the identification band. His eyes bored
into her, keeping her mesmerized. Unable to look away, he purposely
lifted her left hand and slipped the band over her wrist. "You
belong here. Are you going to deny that?"

Tish shook off the effect of his stare enough
to ask, "You don't care?"

"No, and offhand I would say the bots and the
station don't care, either."

Tish glanced down at Crimson and Violet to
find the bots staring straight up at her. Both of them staring,
completely still. As if waiting.

"I want to stay," Tish said in a
whisper.

"Good."

Arthur took the bag and swept the drug vials
back into their bag. He folded the top over to seal them away. "And
may I suggest you take these down to medical for disposal? You do
not want to take them. Horrendous side-effects and they could
interfere with your ability to do your job."

In his eyes she saw only truth. No worry, no
accusing glares. Like his brother and his wife, he simply accepted
her the way she was.

As well as something else. Perhaps?

She shook herself, rubbing the identification
band around her wrist. She was putting into his expression what she
wanted to see, she told herself, not what was really
there.

"I want to stay," she said again, only more
firmly and with more volume. She wiped away the last of the
tears.

He cocked his head at her, giving her a
pleading expression. "Then stay. It's as simple as
that."

CHAPTER TWENTY

TISH DIDN'T EXPECT Arthur to stay for dinner, or to go with
her to medical to turn in the pills. With the disposal of the pills
another weight lifted from her. Never again would she allow them to
darken her world.

He suggested a night exploring the
entertainment possibilities of the station, but her bots wouldn't
let her out of their sight. She felt bad about Violet still healing
from her injuries yet still wanting to keep up. In the end they
lounged around her apartment watching bad science fiction adventure
movies.

Yet, he did all of it with her as if he had
nowhere else to go, completely relaxed as he draped himself over a
corner of her couch.

Her bots were joined by Arthur's, all of them
making fun of the movies in their own way. Tish loved every moment
of it. Seeing the more fun side of Arthur, even Rachel when she
came by to make sure everything was okay. It made her love all of
them all the more. Especially Arthur. That he cared so much to make
sure she was doing well.

Through it all something else made its
presence known. A reassurance.

The station still wanted her, too.

The next morning she enjoyed her morning cup
of coffee with Crimson and Violet by her side on the balcony.
Crimson held the tray while Violet sat quietly next to her, the
damaged eyestalk appearing to be completely repaired. With a deep
sadness she realized she'd never enjoyed breakfast with all three
bots beside her.

She let the creamer billow up in the cup, some
of the shapes flowing up like the smooth curved outer shell of the
bots. Some of them large, some smaller like the miniature
bots.

After the clouds dissipated she lifted the cup
in a toast to the station and the view. "To our lost friends.
Memories are forever."

Crimson and Violet whistled in agreement, both
settling into a soft hum.

With breakfast over she headed out of the
apartment. The first few turns she made from memory. From then on
she went with what felt right. For the first time, she made it all
the way to the maintenance platform all by herself, with her bots
trailing after her.

"I can't believe I did it," she said as she
entered the maintenance platform. Crimson and Violet chirped at
her, telling her they had no doubts in her ability.

Her positive attitude dropped when she saw a
gray-haired man in a prim blue and gold suit standing next to
Arthur on the raised maintenance platform. Damien sat in one of the
chairs nearby with a cup of coffee in his hands, swiveled away from
the console, lounging backwards while talking to them.

Arthur stood up straighter the moment he saw
her. The man in the suit stopped talking and turned in her
direction. Damien popped up in his chair, his relaxed manner
gone.

Tish slowed down, only stepping up onto the
platform when Arthur waved for her to join them. Her eyes went from
one to the other, finally settling on the older man in the suit.
Nothing in Arthur's demeanor gave her an inkling of what was about
to happen, other than a deference of respect towards the older
man.

As she came to a stop in front of them, Arthur
gestured between the two of them. "Tish Douglas, I would like to
introduce you to Director Sebastian Stemski, the director of
Redpoint One. Sir, this is our new arrival."

Director Stemski held out a hand, "I've been
hearing all about you. Welcome to Redpoint One."

The hand that enveloped and shook hers was
warm and firm. "Thank you, sir. It's a pleasure to be
here."

"I hope you mean that," Director Stemski said
with a crooked smile.

Arthur cleared his throat. "It seems we have a
new development."

Tish let her hand drop. Her mind went back to
the confrontation with Ricardo. She'd completely forgotten to tell
Arthur about it. Good grief. She'd tried to tell the truth and
still bungled it. Arthur might not care about the 'psi event,' but
the director of the entire station might.

A sharp whistle broke the silence. A whistle
all too familiar.

A white bot stood between Crimson and Violet
with a blue hair band at the top of one eyestalk. It looked
straight up at her and whistled again.

Tish forgot all about the men standing around
her. Didn't care one bit that the director of the entire station
was standing next to her. She had eyes only for the bot.

Her voice breaking, she squeaked,
"Aqua!"

The bot whistled again, a whistle echoed with
pure joy from Crimson and Violet. She charged off the platform to
land on her knees between all three bots.

It certainly looked like the same hair band,
but the body shell was different. Tish looked back at Arthur, "How
can this be Aqua? He was destroyed."

"What he gave you was a memory chip.
Apparently the bots were busy making a new body for him all night,
because he was here this morning. Complete with the holographic
hair tie," Arthur said with a goofy grin on his face. "Your friend
came home."

Tish wished the half-shell bodies were better
suited for hugs. She was touching all three, and yet she still
couldn't believe it. She had all three of her bots back. The bots
crowded around her, pushing themselves against her, as if they
couldn't get enough of her, either.

"A proper reunion," Director Stemski said from
behind her with a soft laugh. "But, I do have other duties to
return to. Ms. Douglas, I am to understand you wish to remain as
part of the crew?"

She pulled herself away from the bots enough
to twist around, looking up at him. "Does this mean I get to stay?
Despite what Ricardo might have said?"

Arthur scowled, "And just what did Ricardo
have to say? Or do? I knew Rachel and I should have picked you
up."

"From what I understand she did just fine on
her own," Director Stemski told him. Turning back to her, he said,
"The man is in the custody of the Space Patrol. I've talked with
them and with Arthur. I know all I feel I need to know."

Tish scrambled up to her feet. Director
Stemski appeared amused, Arthur bemused. Damien looked on with
laughter in his eyes for all of them.

No anger, no disappointment. Nothing
negative.

"I do want to stay," Tish said. "I enjoy
working here."

Director Stemski nodded, both his eyebrows
lifting as he looked down at her. "Just as well, considering the
news."

She shook her head at him, echoing, "News,
sir?"

Director Stemski slipped a hand into a pocket.
He brought out a new identification band. "Ms. Douglas, the station
of Redpoint One had this waiting for me this morning. It seems it's
chosen its new Primary Outer Systems Maintenance Administrator.
Congratulations."

She stared at the band he held out towards
her. "I don't understand."

"For the past two years I've been both the
inner and outer system administrator, as the station hasn't
accepted anyone else. The station wants you in the position,"
Arthur said, leaning back against a console. "Apparently the repair
you performed yesterday convinced it you would be appropriate. I
told you your trial period was over."

"Over and with a promotion," Damien added,
taking another sip of coffee.

Tish stepped forward and took the band in her
hand. Unlike hers, the new identification band was more
complicated, showing more of what she assumed were controls. She
panicked a little. How would she know how to use it?

A chorus of clicks and chirps behind her
reminded her. She took a deep breath, calming herself.

"We hope to see great things with you,"
Director Stemski said.

"I hope I can live up to it, sir," she said,
more than a little bit in awe.

"You will. If you remember to listen to the
bots and the station like you did yesterday," Arthur
said.

Director Stemski turned to Arthur. "I'll leave
you to begin the administrator training."

Tish's ears were ringing as the director said
his goodbyes, and shook her hand once again. Her mind spun over
what had just happened, yet her heart soared. She was a permanent
part of the station for as long as she wanted it.

Even though she had absolutely no idea what
her new job might be.

"So much worry on that face," Arthur said with
a laugh.

He took the old identification band off her
wrist while Damien shouted to someone in the back. She slipped on
the new one, feeling it automatically tighten around her
wrist.

She asked, "And my new job is?"

Arthur motioned her towards the center table,
bringing up a graphic of Redpoint One. "Primary Outer Systems.
Think of what happened yesterday."

"Defense systems?" Tish asked with a sinking
heart. Was her confrontation with Ricardo and the warbots only the
beginning? She better introduce herself to the local Space Patrol
and station security as soon as possible.

"And others, such as communications, hull
damage, airlock maintenance, and the like."