The Watcher [Alien Nation #1]

Chapter 23

Once the tense, silent ride home was over, Cass had barely had time to say goodbye to Jules before she left. It had been hard enough to get back onto the Hub safely—news of the attack had travelled faster than they had, and it took some convincing before the jumpy young lieutenant at the final Starbridge let them make the jump. Then, as soon as they had landed, Jules had been called to a meeting with her superiors, so she had left with a quick goodbye and an apologetic glance backwards. Avery hadn't had as much time; Dr Anderson had been bombarding her netlink with messages and alerts almost to the point of pain, and so she had left, too. Erri, she hadn't even spoken to after he'd insisted his injuries weren't serious, though he'd let her take care of most of the navigation on the way back. Even Charon had slunk off, probably in search of lady cats.

Then the disinfectant squad had come, washing down her insides with a pink gel that had been designed to not damage the computers. It evaporated after a few minutes, taking the remains of any germs she'd brought back from earth with it. Then she could feel them on the outside, hosing down the hull, but they were gone now, leaving her alone once again.

Cass wondered what it would be like to "lose count of the hours" as Jules said she often did while shifting through towering stacks of news reports or background info on a failed memory wipe. It would be nice if she could lose herself in algorithms and system checks and just disappear from the galaxy for a while, but as it was, she was acutely aware that she had been alone in the Phoenix for three hours and twenty-two minutes. She was a digital ghost haunting a hollow, empty ship.

She hoped the others weren't getting in trouble for getting caught, or for Josh's death. That had been the fault of an obviously careless soldier with no regard for lives unlike their own; Cass had seen it in the way the alien had hoisted Josh into the air, as if it wasn't obvious his soft throat had no protection from its claws. It disgusted her to think about the waste of life, but she would make sure Jules wasn't blaming herself.

New movement sparked on her external sensors and she stirred, stretching in her servers, feeling a ripple of sensation along every wire, imagined breath sighing through her deserted passages. Emergency lights flickered on along the bottom of her walkways and her climbing-cables and her consoles, should the visitor decide to enter.

As they approached, she could make out that the life signature was ghraal, and male...Erri?

Sure enough, as he approached, the ghraal's tail raised and the spines around his ears flared in precisely the way they used to greet an old friend. "Hey, Cass," he said, raising one hand in a human-style wave, the other tucked neatly behind his back. There was, she noticed, the slightest hesitation before he said her name. It was understandable—all the time she'd known him without him knowing her, she'd simply been the Phoenix. Thinking of her as a whole new person had to be strange.

Still. He was making an effort. She let him in.

"Can you, like, turn off your internal cameras or something? Just for a few minutes," he said as he stepped inside.

"That is a violation of safety protocols," she said, but one of her cameras had zoomed in on the arm tucked behind Erri's back, almost as if the camera had a mind of its own. "But I have already violated many safety protocols today for the benefit of others. I do not see the harm in violating another one, for the benefit of...myself, perhaps?"

Erri shrugged. "Perhaps. Turn off your sensors and find out. I'm coming up to the control room."

"Very well," said Cass. "I will see you there. That was a pun."

"I know, Cass," said Erri, his voice rumbling with laughter. "Now close your eyes."

She did as he asked, restricting her visual feedback to the control room. While she waited, she projected her image in the holograph node, since he still probably found it strange to talk to thin air. She went with her usual appearance, but chose a more casual outfit—a long knitted jumper and leggings, as was the fashion on Earth at that point.

He appeared less than a minute later, hand still held behind his back. It was impressive how he could scale a ladder with one hand full, on top of his injuries, but then, he was ghraal. Climbing came as naturally to them as walking.

"I'd tell you to hold out your hands, but...surprise!" From behind his back he produced a small bouquet of flowers in a slim vase that she quickly identified as lobelias. They matched the intricate pattern tattooed over Avery's back and collarbone, right down to the vibrant colour.

"Are these a gift?" she said, her projection's eyes widening on command of some subroutine she hadn't realised she had until now. After her consciousness from Avery and Charon from Jules, it was the third gift she had ever received.

"Yeah. Thought your control room could use a bit of brightening up." Carefully, he straightened one of the flowers, wary not to catch it on his razor-sharp claws. "Someone owed me a favour."

"Erri, this..." Cass tested several combinations of words, but none of them seemed quite adequate. "It is very sweet of you. Thank you."

"I'm glad you like them."

"They remind me of Avery."

Erri laughed quietly. "Yeah, the same ones on her tats. These don't glow, though."

"They are beautiful all the same." Cass just wished she could touch them, feel their silky petals between her fingers, smell their sweet scent.

Erri sighed, carefully placing the vase on the edge of a desk, one that Jules didn't use much, before sitting down in front of her, legs stretched out in front of him. There was, she noticed, a stiffness to his movements, though he seemed to be hiding it well.

"Did they let you out of the infirmary already?"

He grunted as he eased himself down. "Yeah. My armour absorbed most of the impact, but I'll have to rest a few days. They didn't think I needed to be under observation though, thank the stars."

"Erri, you don't have to stay if it's hurting you."

He waved her off. "Honestly, I'm so dosed up on pain meds I can't feel much. It's just I didn't get a chance earlier. I wanted to...apologise, I guess."

Cass sat down facing him, mirroring his position. "Apologise for what?"

"My piloting."

Cass laughed. "There is nothing wrong with your piloting skills."

"Oh, I know. I meant the barrel rolls and stuff. I know I take too many risks. I knew Jules was cool with it, as long as I don't do anything too stupid. I never asked you though."

"I don't mind, Erri, really. Just don't crash."

"I won't." His fringe flared out at the top of his head in a smile. "Promise."