If Jove Stray

Chapter 37: beginnings

The muffins made the whole berth smell warm and delicious. While Alcott had initially refused to bake with Tyson, she was glad he insisted.

"Merci," she said as she dried the last bowl and set it back in the cabinet.

"No, thank you," he countered.

"What for?" Alcott scoffed.

Tyson drained the sink and then leaned against the countertop.

"You had every reason this week to be angry with me," he said. "I disrupted your life, and your work; I'm constantly around whining about how much I miss Earth; my parents are responsible for much of the whole archive affair, and to top it all off it doesn't look like I can leave any time soon. Who knows when Dashiell will fix this genetics thing, if ever. Maybe he never meant to."

"When you put it that way," she rolled her eyes. "I don't blame you for most of that. I agreed to Dashiell's terms of my own free will. It may not have turned out how I thought, but you're the worst person I could have been partnered with. And I think you will make a positive impact on others here. We can worry about children later."

"Like, so much later," Tyson shuddered. "Decades later."

"I'm not having children in my forties," Alcott informed him. "Anyway. Who knows what will happen between now and then."

"I really hope those muffins are as good as they smell," he replied with a smile. "I am very nearly hungry and hope that I'll be able to eat them soon. Save some for me, won't you?"

"I'm pregnant, no promises," she laughed.

There was a knock at the door and she turned to face it, wondering who it could be. It was too early for lunch.

Tyson dried his hands and answered the door. Levi stepped into the room looking haggard. Tyson frowned and then hurried to grab his holo-rib. Levi didn't say anything while he stood by the door.

"Hey Alcott, would you mind if I took some muffins to my parents?" Tyson asked. "I don't think my mother knows how to bake."

"Of course," she replied.

She found him a plate and he was gone from the room a minute later. Levi looked up from his feet.

"We had a congress meeting today," he said.

"Why don't you come sit down?" she suggested, moving around the counter to sit on the couch. Levi sat next to her and leaned his crutches against the armrest. He had worn his nice shirt to the congress meeting, but it was rumpled now. She felt guilty that she had even considered the possibility that Levi staying in the archives was a good idea. It was clear that Levi was deeply unhappy, and she worried a little about what he would do next.

"Eleven to four," he said. It took Alcott a moment to realize that he was talking about votes. "So even Aeneid members voted to keep me in archives. I just don't understand why. Only one other person thought I should get a say in my life? Just Anatoly, Dylan and I, and then only one other person?"

"I'm sorry," Alcott said, reaching over to hug him.

Levi rested his head on her shoulder and sighed, but didn't say any more. Alcott wasn't astonished by the results; Dashiell had made it seem like he would make sure things went in his favor.

"Dylan got Dashiell kicked out of being captain," he continued with far less enthusiasm than she would have expected.

"That's good news," Alcott offered.

"I suppose," he replied.

He explained how Dylan had found a video that they could have used to get Dashiell to release him from this new position. Dylan had basically dismantled the captain for life position and then set up Vertov in the interim. Apparently much had changed in the congress meeting. Alcott worried a little what would happen to Tyson now that Vertov was captain, but she had somewhat expected Dashiell to be unsuccessful what with everything else that had been happening. She didn't want Tyson as a partner, but he had been a good friend these past several days.