Seraph’s Gambit- Episode 41
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Noah
“I vote for turning tail and finding a nice, quiet little world. One with sandy beaches and little need for clothing.” Noah said.
He sat at the mess table with a stripped gun laid out before him. He had taken it out and begun cleaning as soon as the others had left the ship. Noah had suddenly found himself uncomfortable with the atmosphere aboard. Despite Vlasa’s general antipathy toward him, and the near constant danger of recent days, he had not felt as at home anyplace in years. It had even been kind of nice seeing Serene again. The sudden departure of half the crew left him feeling, surprisingly, sad.
“We’re not taking a vote.” Ariana said absently.
“Why not?”
“It’s my ship.”
“Sure, but that doesn’t mean we can’t vote.”
Ariana didn’t say anything in response. That didn’t surprise Noah too much. She had hardly said a word since Olivia had left. What worried him more was that Vlasa had likewise remained quiet.
Continuing to clean his gun, Noah started to whistle a jaunty tune. He picked one he knew irritated Vlasa. When he reached the refrain, he gave it his all. Vlasa rewarded him with a groan.
Seeing his opportunity, Noah said, “Well, it looks like we’re going to need a new pilot. I’ve always wanted to add that to my resume.”
“Do you even know how to pilot?” Ariana asked.
“Sure thing. Push buttons. Try not to run into things.”
Ariana let out a sigh, “Sounds like you’ve got the basics. Alright, you’ll take over as pilot.”
“Are you sure you want to trust our lives to Noah?” Vlasa asked emphatically coming out of his funk.
Noah frowned at the Echanic; “You’ve had your life in my hand several times already.”
“And in recent days I’ve been electrocuted, captured by slavers, ejected into space…” Vlasa said, ticking off each item with his fingers.
“Hey, none of that’s my fault,” Noah said. Vlasa’s eyebrow raised and he shrugged in response, “Okay, maybe the slaver bit.”
“Regardless of your fault in the rest,” Vlasa said, “Noah is not a qualified pilot.”
“Would you rather I fly?” Ariana asked, giving Vlasa a pointed look.
“No, definitely not.”
“Well then, would you rather have Noah in the engine room so you can fly?”
“That, even I would not recommend,” Noah said.
“That only leaves Mesu.”
“If I were to attempt flying this ship, I calculate a 74.6% chance I would fail at my primary function of keeping biologicals alive.” Mesu intoned.
“Very well.” Vlasa relented.
Vlasa’s acquiescence left the room hanging in silence again. Noah decided not to abandon the headway he had made, “As much as I appreciate your confidence, Cap, don’t you think we would be better off going and getting the kid back?”
“She made her choice,” Ariana said flatly.
“Yeah, but she’s just a kid. We aren’t seriously going to abandon her here?”
“We’re not abandoning anybody. They all left of their own free will. We’ll be fine. Now let’s get back to work. As soon as the Rokma finish the repairs, we’re leaving,” Ariana stated, her tone remaining neutral.
Ariana stood up and strode out of the mess hall. She didn’t exactly flee, but Noah wouldn’t have called her stride casual. He frowned at her.
Turning to Vlasa, he said, “I don’t like this.”
“You don’t like anything,” Vlasa replied, but there wasn’t the normal amount of bite to his words. The Echanic’s shoulders slumped, and he stared down at the table below him.
“Seriously. I agree with the captain. Going with those rockheads would have been stupid. But she didn’t even put up a fight to keep the crew together.”
“She was prepared to fight Squee to protect Javi.” Vlasa pointed out.
“Yeah, but she backed down immediately.”
“Because Javi decided to go. The captain is very much a believer in individual freedom.”
“Yeah, normally I’d be all for that. But it seems to me, sometimes people make stupid ass decisions.”
“That is one point I would agree with you on.”
Noah let out a heavy sigh, and rubbed his eyes, “So what are we going to do about it?”
“Oooh, are we planning a mutiny?” Mesu said cheerfully, startling Noah. He spun in his chair to look at the drone. He had completely forgotten the thing was still in here.
“No, we’re not planning a mutiny.” He said emphatically, “Why would you be so excited by that?”
Mesu shrugged his appendages, “I am excited by everything. It’s part of my bedside manner subroutine. Optimism from a physician increases patient survival by thirty-six percent.”
“I think your programming is faulty. Telling people all the horrible ways they can die is cool and all. But not very optimistic.”
“It is important for a patient to be fully informed. Being aware of how fragile their existence is helps remind them of the miracle that they continue to be alive. It reassures them of my incredible skill in staving off their inevitable death for even a short time.”
Noah shared a glance with Vlasa, “Maybe Olivia had the right idea.”
“There is some merit to Mesu’s claim,” Vlasa said, without any real conviction.
“Well, at least I know I’m still with the crazy part of the crew rather than the insane part.”
“Enough of this muttering.” Vlasa said standing up, “I have an FTL to rebuild. And you have to learn how to fly.”
Continue to Episode 42
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