Star Cruise - Outbreak (4 page)

Freeing herself from his light touch with a frown, she retreated a step. “Why do you care?”

“I understand why you aren’t too fond of beaches—”

“We were staging the wounded there, on Fantalar, for transfer to the
Cassie
,” she said, using the nickname the crew had given the battleship she’d been assigned to. “Until the Mawreg attacked and—”

“I know. I was on Fantalar’s beach too.” His voice was quiet.

Alarm bells rang in her mind. Veterans who wanted to thank her for saving them were the worst. She never knew what to say, and in their well-meant words of gratitude, she always heard the unspoken criticism of her failure to save everyone. Raising her hand as if to physically fend off his grateful remarks, she shook her head. “Can we not talk about it? Please?”

As if sensing her distress, he took a step back, out of her personal space. “Of course, Doc, whatever you want. The subject can be completely off-limits the rest of your tenure here, unless you change your mind. Our beach on board is totally different, was all I was going to say.”

“Why does anyone want to meet me anyway?”

“You’re one of us, even if only for this leg of our cruise. We’re a team. Teams don’t function as well when there’s a big unknown.” He studied her, blue eyes steady. “It’s a belated engagement party for my second-in-command and his fiancée, but no one expects you to bring a gift. Good low-stress way to meet the people. The focus won’t be on you.”

He was trying hard to make fitting into her temporary home easier for her, she realized. No reason she couldn’t meet him halfway. “All right, but I’m agreeing to only this one event. No commitments.”

“Great. I’ll swing by your cabin at seven, standard time. Wear something casual.”

CHAPTER THREE

“See you then.” Emily crossed through the portal and stepped into the grav flow with no hesitation, riding the beams to the lower levels of the ship. She found her cabin easily on Level 11, the door yielding to her palm print. The cabin was good-sized, no trace of her predecessor anywhere. Her serviceable kitbag, looking twice as battered in the midst of all this gleaming cruise-ship luxury, sat on a luggage rack next to the bed. Officers’ quarters on this vessel were a soft berth, compared to military cabins. She unpacked before ordering a small meal from room service.

She didn’t have much in the way of casual clothing, so a fresh pair of dark leggings and her best blue tunic with soutache braid trim had to do for the occasion. Jake arrived at the cabin portal promptly at the appointed hour. He surveyed her from head to toe and whistled. “Blue suits you. Good choice, Doc.”

Stepping into the corridor as the door closed behind her, she said, “It was either this or my sweatpants and a T-shirt. I wasn’t expecting to mingle when off duty.”

As they floated to Level 5 in the gravlift, she asked, “What do the paying passengers think about the crew taking over the beach deck? Don’t they mind? Based on my experiences today, I can’t imagine the Sectors’ upper crust want to mix with the hired help.”

“Bad day, huh?” Jake tilted his head.
 

“Let’s say interesting.” She grinned. “My attempt at being tactful.”

“It’s true we have our own recreational facilities on the crew-only restricted decks, but we share the beach. We’re allowed in the casino when off duty, with certain limitations, of course. Usually, the beach is booked for evening events—parties and corporate soirees, which tend to be over fairly early. The crowd we carry likes more adult entertainment later at night, and the fact Maeve constantly surveys the beach discourages certain activities. Privacy guaranteed in the cabins only, you know.”

“I think a few of the Socialite girls I saw today wouldn’t care if the AI was watching or not. Might like it better if she was.”

“You had ’Lites in sickbay?”

“A whole gaggle of them. One girl—Sessaly Norbin of the shipbuilding Norbin Conglomerate, as I was informed at least ten times—acquired a splinter requiring extraction, and all her friends—male and female—came along for support, or amusement at her expense. It was like having a flock of birds cooped up in there. So much shrieking, laughing and restless energy.” Emily shook her head. “Sessaly wanted me to knock her out to remove one tiny shard of metal. Which I refused to do. There was no medical necessity for general anesthesia. And I don’t respond well to bribes.”
 

“No ’Lites at our party, I promise. It’d be too tame for them,” Jake said. “Crew parties on board are strictly by the book.”

When she stepped through the portal and onto the
Nebula Zephyr
’s beach, Emily paused for a moment, overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the holographic sky, which currently displayed a gorgeous purple and golden sunset with twin moons rising over the “horizon.” The beach was an endless expanse of white sand against which the water lapped in gentle waves. “Nothing like Fantalar,” she said, taking a deep breath in relief. “You were right.”

“Copied from Tahumaroa Two’s most popular beach, down to the last detail.” Jake took her by the elbow and gently rotated her to look behind them where the ship displayed the hologram of an inviting rain forest, complete with iridescent-winged insects settled onto branches “for the night.”
 

“Even the water is actually from the planet,” he said.

“Oh, come on, you’re kidding me. Really?”

He leaned closer. “Actually, not all the water, but the Line did pay for twenty-five percent of the volume to be brought from Tahumaroa so we could advertise we provide the full experience. You know the ocean there has unique minerals said to be therapeutic. So this deck has its own recycling system—Maeve’s not allowed to mix the pricey water with the rest of the ship’s system. Although market research shows only about a third of the passengers ever set foot on the beach, much less go swimming. The crowd we carry leans more to the enticements of the casino and nightclubs.” Maintaining his light touch on her elbow as if she might take flight and flee, he steered her onto the beach. “I want you to meet the guests of honor, and then I’ll get you a drink.”

Emily tensed as he plunged into the crowd, towing her in his wake. The music wasn’t too loud and the voices were friendly, but anxiety crept over her like a black cloud obscuring the sun. He led her through the throng and to the cluster of brightly decorated tables set off to the side, stopping at one festooned with garlands. “Dr. Shane, I’d like you to meet Meg Antille, the blushing bride-to-be, and my second officer, Red Thomsill. I don’t know how he talked this gorgeous woman into marrying him, but there you have it.”

Meg had a sweet face, big brown eyes and a welcoming smile. “I’m so glad you were able to join us tonight,” she said, shaking hands. She nudged her fiancé in the ribs as he rose to greet Emily a moment later. “Let the doctor have your chair. I’m guessing she had a long day on her feet in sickbay.”

“Oh no, I’m fine,” Emily said. “No need to get up on my account.”

“I insist, Doc.” Red moved the chair closer to her. “It’s an honor to meet you. You go ahead and sit while Jake and I replenish the drinks. What’ll you have?”

Rather than continue to argue, Emily sat in the chair next to Meg. “Anything’s fine. Whatever you’ve got. A beer?”

“Beer we can manage.” Jake clapped his friend on the shoulder, and the two men marched off into the crowd.

“So how was your first day?” Meg asked, taking a handful of chips and offering the bowl to Emily. “Is life aboard the
Nebula Zephyr
what you expected?”

Shaking her head to the chips, Emily said, “I didn’t know what to expect exactly. I didn’t get much notice before Jake ferried me to the ship, so no time to do any research either. I’ve only served on military ships.”

“I’ve been on a Space Navy vessel once, as a passenger, when we were rescued from Dantaralon, escaping the Shemdylann pirates,” Meg said. “Not a cruise-ship experience, for sure. But the officers and crew were all nice to me. Didn’t make me want to enlist in the service, though.” She laughed.

Interest piqued, Emily said, “What Sector were you in to have encountered those bastards?”

“A long way away from here, thankfully.”

As the music segued into a catchy popular tune, she leaned closer to Meg, fingering one of the gaily colored strands of ribbon garnishing the table. “Congratulations on your engagement, by the way. I’m sorry I arrived empty-handed.”

Meg waved her hand. “Don’t be concerned. We’ve actually been engaged for a while, but Jake suggested the occasion made a great excuse for a crew party. We specified no presents, just come and have fun, mingle.” She tapped her fingers in time to the song. “What’s taking them so long with the drinks, I wonder?”

Emily tried to think of some topic of conversation. Small talk wasn’t in her skill set. Work was a safe subject, right? “Jake said you’re cruise staff?”

“Yes, I’m the assistant to the cruise director. My primary assignment this leg of the cruise is to ride herd on a family from Harilon who won a trip in some contest the Line ran, make sure all of them have a good time, from youngest to oldest. The Enzells’ve never been offworld before.” Meg sipped her beer. “Charmingly different from the passengers I used to deal with on my last ship.
These
are nice people.”

“A family? How many children?” The princess she’d met earlier in the day crossed her mind.
I bet she never gets to mingle with kids her own age.

“Three, two boys and a girl, who’ve kept me busy, but I don’t mind. The
Nebula Zephyr
has a lot to offer for families, so we’re using this opportunity as good publicity for the amenities. The family is scheduled to do the big interview shows on Sector Hub once we arrive, and I want all their answers about the cruise experience to be positive. You’ll get to meet the contest family tomorrow at the captain’s table. Red said you’re on the guest list.”

“There were a few things Jake neglected to tell me before I agreed to take the job.”

“What? Me forget to fully brief you?” Jake and Red had returned with chilled bottles of beer. He set one in front of Emily and then snagged a chair from the next table.

“You didn’t mention the pets, for one thing.”

“Pets? Tell me more,” Meg requested with a laugh.

“Oh, there was a passenger this morning who wanted me to be a veterinarian.” Emily waved the beer bottle. “No big deal once I got used to the idea.”

“Hey, I see there’s a game of volleyball getting organized. Want to play?” Jake asked.

“I’m beat,” Meg answered. “I’m staying right here, but you go ahead, knock yourselves out.”

Emily stood. “I’ll play.” She could tell from the surprise on Jake’s face that he hadn’t anticipated her joining in. “As it happens, I was a highly ranked player in college, before med school. We won the Sector quarterfinals my senior year.”

“A ringer.” Red sounded delighted. “Maybe we can finally hand those guys from engineering their asses.”

Emily enjoyed the game, although she had to dig her elbows into Jake’s side a few times and trip him once before he accepted the notion that she would field any balls coming into her territory, no help needed. Her serve was a bit rusty, but she managed to score some points for the team, and her side was victorious. The engineers promptly challenged them to a rematch, and she played those points just as fiercely before begging off from the next game, despite good-natured pleading from her teammates.

“I’m going to get a beer, maybe keep Meg company,” she said, hands on her hips. “Catch my breath. I can see I’m out of shape.”

“I’ll go with you.” Jake tossed the ball to Red.

“No, I know you want to play this next round.” She gave him a gentle push. “I can mingle on my own perfectly well.”

“Okay, then.” He trotted across the sand to rejoin their team, greeted by a shout as he took his place.

Emily watched the play resume for a moment and then made her way off the beach deck, heading to the gravlift. The party had been fun for the most part—more fun than she’d had in a long time—but becoming a part of the group made her wary. She preferred the safety of her self-imposed solitude. And she didn’t want people assuming she and Jake were an item. She’d seen the glances from more than one of the women at the gathering, assessing the way he hovered around her. Besides, after the horrors of Fantalar and the friends she’d lost there, Emily didn’t form attachments if she could help it. All things considered, attending the party had made for a congenial evening, but there was no need to prolong the experience.

Later, lounging on the bed in her cabin, she debated whether to watch entertainment trideos or shut off the lights and strive for sleep. Deciding her nerves were too keyed up for full relaxation, she had Maeve show her the available list of diversions.

Debating between a wildly unrealistic space adventure and a retro drama set on somebody’s inventive version of Old Terra, Emily sat straighter as she had a better idea. “Ship, can I access the medical records from here?”

“Of course, Doctor. Which files do you wish to see?”

“Treatment logs for the clinic for the last month.” It might be wise to prepare for her stint by seeing what kinds of cases normally occupied the ship’s medical crew.

An AI port rose smoothly from the deck, morphing into the recognizable silhouette, ready for her commands. “Excellent.” Smoothing loose tendrils of her hair behind her ears, Emily yawned. Maybe she’d scan the records for a few minutes and then take a shower.