Chapter 14

Miley's Secret Log:

I drifted back to consciousness and out of the peaceful darkness that had comforted me. Light gently touched my opening lids. The faint light gave the room a washed out look, gray tones accenting the darkness. Someone was lingering at the edge of my vision, quietly observing me. After a moment of examination, my eyes adjusted to the light level in the sick bay.

"So, Von Solon, you are awake and recovered," Celeste Cina said, "the captain asked me to check on you."

"Counselor," I responded through dry lips.

I couldn't help think, "Celeste Cina looked well-proportioned and sculptured for a petite, middle-aged woman, but seems as reserved as ever."

She walked to the door. "Dorothy, our patient needs some water,"

"That is the extent of my nursing for you," Celeste said, dusting her hands off with a good natured laugh. "My role is to check you for any emotional trauma from your experience."

"Nay, I am happy to be alive. My life seems to be full of near death experiences, but I don't get depressed over them," I responded, moving to my elbows while the lights in the room went up a few levels. "The universe isn't going to stop because a jolt of energy fried my PDA, melted my clothes and burned my thigh."

Celeste sat back on a stool and frowned. "You are a surprising young man. It seems it's true: Academy cadets have particularly strong emotional stability."

Nurse Dorothy walked into the room with a sealed water container and a straw. "He is a hero in my books. A lucky charm for the ship and for Rayz. It doesn't surprise me that tragic events bounce off him. He survived a shipwreck, the death of his uncle, survived on a primitive world for years. He could be soaking up the ship's hospitality, but he pitches in and works instead. No wonder the women on this crew are enamored by the man."

"Well, my daughter tells me her roommate speaks highly of you," Celeste chipped in.

Nonie Cina was Merritt's roommate, so I wasn't going to comment on her probing.

"From what the night nurses told me, your daughter got an eyeful while they washed off the healing gel that had sedated Von," Dorothy thundered with a rolling laugh. "She seemed to understand part of Merritt's attraction."

Dorothy handed me water and wiped her eyes, still snickering to herself. "Of course, I had my own opportunities."

Celeste just smirked, not feeding Dorothy's banter. I wasn't sure if this was just her tight-lipped nature or an attempt to give me some dignity. I was hardly awake, so this line of conversation didn't faze me. The water quenched my thirst. I promptly emptied the container and handed it back to Dorothy, who didn't seem surprised I had guzzled it.

"If you find you need to talk about your experience, please let me know," Celeste said seriously.

Her black eyes held mine until I nodded. The counselor tossed her jaw length hair for a moment, and then paused in the doorway.

"My daughter will be in shortly to provide a therapeutic massage. Doctor's orders," Celeste said, clearly amused. "She has seen lots of naked bodies. Nonie is every bit as professional as I am."

After Celeste was out of hearing, Dorothy mumbled under her breath, "I thought she was smarter. That Nonie is very much interested in a particular man."

"Huh?"

Dorothy explained, "When her daughter saw you were sweating from the medical gel, which is a common side effect, Nonie washed your face. I swear the young lady got all giddy at the chance to nurse you once she started. I'd regularly check on you from the door and she would be standing close to you, playing with your hair. I decided it must be because she realized you're so heroic. You saving Rayz moved her emotionally. When Merritt and Kate arrived she left looking all flush."

"So, that is why I was so thirsty," I commented, dismissing Nonie's reaction as something not to be discussed with Dorothy. "Kate and Merritt let me sleep?"

Dorothy just nodded and walked to a cabinet to open it. "Here are your new clothes: skinsuit, uniform, PDA, and accessories. Get dressed. Celeste will be giving Captain Bank the go ahead for your debriefing about the incident. Someone from security will be interviewing you soon. Rayz said Commander Tarry is taking this accident pretty seriously."

I knew this was no accident, but I wasn't going to tell Nurse Dorothy before talking to the captain. As for the interview, I was not going to offer any personal conclusions, just the facts.

The interview turned out to be a straightforward fact finding mission about what I remembered from the accident. Ulla recorded my comments for the official inquiry. When the ship returns to its space harbor, the company will review everything that happened on the mission, including the energy containment breach. Ulla was attended by a representative of engineering. It was the heavy-world woman I'd seen in the maintenance tunnel the day of the accident. The woman was introduced as Commander Tarry's long-time office assistant and project manager, which was news to me. The tech made her own video for the chief engineer's use, using her engineering PDA. They both treated me warmly and with every courtesy, both of them shaking my hand as they left. Ulla instructed me to make haste to the bridge and to attend the captain. I had expected to receive a little more insight about what was happening, but Ulla purposely kept the meeting formal. It didn't worry me, but I preferred knowing what was going on. Being outside the command structure felt odd.

Dorothy hesitated at her nurse's station when she saw me leave the conference room across from her desk, and looked at me expectantly.

"I didn't learn anything from them," I commented.

Ulla and her partner left Medical. Dorothy signed me out, processing the release order.

"You were lucky it was only a flesh wound. If that charge hadn't been absorbed by your PDA you'd be in here for days, probably succumbing to my feminine charms," she teased.

"Who said I'm not already under your spell," I said, before my brain caught up with my mouth.

Dorothy's mega-watt smile followed me out of the medical center. She wasn't someone I really wanted to flirt with. Not that she wasn't a nice person, but the image of Rayz bashing in my brains kept coming to me.

My PDA bounced on my hip as I marshaled my thoughts to prepare for what the captain wanted. The elevator opened and Merritt jumped into my arms before I realized it. The crewmen in the elevator laughed as the door slid closed. The elevator left and we kissed.

"Dr. Cina let me sneak out of main Medical to try and catch you before your discharge. I almost missed you!" my lover said in a rush of words.

She couldn't wipe the cheesy grin from her face because she was so pleased with herself.

"Thanks for coming to see me, even if I was out of it," I whispered in her ear, giving her another hug.

"We all came to see you. I had to pry Kate away. All your girls gave their sleeping prince a kiss," Merritt responded.

Another elevator arrived and we entered it. It was surprisingly crowded with crew members. Merritt noted my surprise.

"Shift personnel have increased to reserve fleet levels for the duration of the voyage. Captain's orders," she explained. "Your accident has caused a full systems check. So crew personal time has diminished to one day in every three weeks."

"Accidents like yours aren't typical on the Entous," someone said over Merritt's shoulder. "We'll get to the bottom of this."

I noticed it was a security guy that made the comment. "They must have determined that the added device shouldn't have been attached to the energy sensor," I thought. "He knows the truth."

The elevator door opened on my residential floor. "No, accidents like that are always a surprise," I said carefully.

The security guy nodded, getting my meaning.

"I have to get back. See you later. Kate sends her love!" Merritt said in a quick fashion as the elevator door closed on her. Her satisfied smirk plastering over her face.

My favorite Yeoman was standing in the doorway of the Security office, just beyond my cabin door. Julie didn't notice me until I was next to her because she was in a deep conversation with the security guy inside.

"Von, I am so glad you are up and around," she said in all earnestness.

I pulled her away from the doorway for a moment and planted a warm welcome on her lips.

Her voice was a hoarse whisper, "The Captain is expecting you, so don't be a naughty boy when you can't deliver."

We both laughed and stepped back into the doorway. It didn't surprise me a yeoman knew my orders given the surprising situation the ship was in. Understanding the expression on her face, it confirmed the insiders in command and security were aware of the serious nature of what we discovered in that alcove. The security guy in the monitoring station offered a non-committal nod and tilt of his head.