HMS Valediction

Chapter 27.2

Ledi and I lay the final pieces of my instrument panel together. Three large sections curve around what I decided was going to be the ship's forward, forming a spacious cockpit where a single pilot could spin around and manage the various instruments I picked. Yesterday, we punched a hole through the wall and carved out the space I need for a floor-to-ceiling view. Now we're keeping our hands busy while we wait for glass-makers to bring me my windows. I had a few others made to join the single orange-covered porthole in the brig.

I gaze over at it, remembering when I had buckled in next to it and watched the Invaders shoot at our caravan. I remember the long hours I spent staring through it, trying to glimpse the stars beyond.

Now, I'm getting an upgrade, but I'll keep it there to remind me of what this whole thing once was.

Returning to my current objective, I stand between my terminals, reach out, and realize I may have made the thing too big.

"May I make a suggestion, ma'am?"

I stretch from my left, touching one panel and fail to reach right to touch the other. "Ledi. I've told you, call me Janika. Lorn. Anything. I don't have a title anymore."

"Janika. May I make a suggestion?"

"Shoot."

"At what?"

"No, I mean go ahead. Give me your suggestion."

"Why not place a second seat between the terminals?"

I drop my arms and twist around to look at him. "Why would I do that?"

"Wouldn't it be easier to use all of your ship's functionality if you had a co-pilot at your side? Someone responsible for one-half of the instruments while you manage the other half? You elected to include enough features for manual piloting that you have made it difficult for a single pilot to operate on her own."

"Hey," I point a finger at his face. "That's the kind of negativity that won't be allowed on my ship."

Ledi's brightness powers down a fraction. "I have failed you."

"If you're going to mope, take it elsewhere. This lovely one and I have some panels to weld together." I grab my welding torch and caress it.

Just as I pull my goggles over my eyes, a boxy shadow stretches out in front of me.

"Have you taken a rest at all today, my dear Lorn?"

I spin around. Teeno stands like a beam of blue light at the entrance of my ship's aft with his hands behind his back, his buttons shining off the overhead hangar lights.

"I wasn't planning on it."

His sharp silver eyes glint even brighter. "What if I told you I had a surprise?"

"I don't know how many more of your surprises I can handle, Teeno. This has already been so much."

"Come now, it's less of a surprise and more of a necessary provision I haven't mentioned before. Come, come. That's it. Come here."

I wipe my dirty hands on the rag hanging out of my coverall pocket and head over. "Okay, I'm intrigued."

Ledi follows me. When he enters the brightness of the hangar, I notice his disheveled hair, the oil and ash on his cheeks and coveralls. No wonder I've become more comfortable with him—his filth makes him more human than ever before. Perfection on humanity isn't natural.

"Ledi!" Teeno gasps. "My God, what has become of you? Have you seen yourself?"

Ledi's brow furrows. He touches his hair, face, and chest. "Sir. My apologies. I haven't reset in so long." Like a static surge on a television set, Ledi's appearance fades and returns as the crisp, pristine man-shape he was before.